Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that The World Made Straight is an adaptation of Ron Rash's coming-of-age novel set in a 1970s Appalachian town. The movie explores serious, disturbing themes about domestic abuse, drug dealing and use, gun violence, and a historical atrocity during the Civil War. The language is frequently strong ("f--k," "s--t," "a--hole"), the sexual references crude (a woman's promiscuity is mentioned several times), and the violence upsetting (a 13-year-old boy is killed at gunpoint, a woman is beaten up repeatedly, characters die), but mature older teens may be interested in the historical ties and the overall theme of an aimless young man figuring out how to navigate adulthood.
Sexual
Content
Passionate kisses between Travis and Lori. Scenes of Dena wearing barely any clothes while lying in bed. Carlton tells Leonard that Dena has been "rode hard but she's still pretty."
Violence
Characters die from being executed, shot, and being involved in an orchestrated car crash. A man beats up a young woman he's sleeping with (he considers her "his"). A young man's leg is seriously injured in a bear trap. Two men threaten violence on more than one occasion. Men carry and use guns, both long guns and hand guns. A Civil War atrocity plays a role in the story.
Language
Frequent cursing: "f--k" (both as an expletive and a crude euphemism for sex), "s--t," "a--hole," "bulls--t," "badass," "f--ked up," and insults like "coward" and "nothing."
Social
Behavior
Stresses the importance of knowing your history and your connection to your home/town/roots. Also promotes the idea of not being stuck in the past and taking charge of your life and your future.
Consumerism
Not applicable
Drugs / Tobacco /
Alcohol
Adults drink beer and hard liquor, smoke and deal marijuana, and pop pills. One woman admits she's a drug addict. Characters also smoke cigarettes.
