Movie review: Although it hits home at times, based-on-a-true-story “Joe Bell” is slight drama

This representation provided by Roadside Attractions shows Reid Miller, left, portraying Jadin Bell, and Mark Wahlberg, portraying Bell’s begetter successful a country from the movie “Joe Bell.” (Quantrell D. Colbert/ Roadside Attractions via AP)

2 stars Rated R. 90 minutes. In theaters.

By Mark Meszoros
Digital First Media

The roadworthy to hellhole isn’t the lone way paved with bully intentions.

“Joe Bell” — a caller play based connected the existent communicative of a antheral who, inspired by the horrible attraction his cheery teenage lad faced, decided to locomotion crossed the state to rise consciousness of the dangers of bullying — appears to beryllium arsenic well-intentioned arsenic movies come. Seemingly, it’s a movie astir acrophobic with honoring the existent Joe and Jadin Bell.

That’s wholly admirable. The real-life Joe Bell, arsenic immoderate whitethorn remember, was killed by a semi truck successful Colorado portion walking connected the eastbound enarthrosis of U.S. 40 successful Cheyenne County, astir 20 miles northwest of Kit Carson, connected Oct. 9, 2013. The consciousness of calamity seemed cruelly compounded.

Unfortunately, “Joe Bell” the movie doesn’t bash the communicative justice.

From manager Reinaldo Marcus Green (“Monsters and Men”) and the “Brokeback Mountain” penning tandem of Diana Ossana and novelist Larry McMurtry, “Joe Bell” stars Mark Wahlberg successful the titular role.

The movie is told successful a non-linear manner and opens with Joe already connected his walk, pushing a carriage with his supplies on a agelong of Idaho pavement arsenic cars and semi-trucks walk him. Jadin (Reid Miller) soon appears to knock his dada for walking with postulation alternatively of against it.

They besides speech astir wherefore Joe is doing this for Jadin, adjacent if it sounds similar Joe is inactive moving done immoderate of that.

It’s evident Joe’s acceptance of what Jadin’s intersexual predisposition has meant for him has been a metaphorical journey, and we soon get the archetypal of respective flashback scenes that instrumentality america backmost to the Bell location successful La Grande, Ore.

In this one, Joe has conscionable installed a immense caller flat-screen TV successful the surviving country and is 10 minutes from watching a large crippled with a fewer friends. With the blessing of his mother, Lola (Connie Britton, “Promising Young Woman”), Jadin pulls Joe distant to travel retired to him. (This setup feels much than a small contrived.)

Although Joe does not respond the mode we fearfulness helium whitethorn — refusing to judge this astir his lad oregon worse — helium does suggest it whitethorn beryllium champion for Jadin to enactment successful the closet.

Understandably, that is not what Jadin wants. He wants to unrecorded his beingness and to beryllium accepted for who helium is. Unfortunately, that is not however it goes successful this tiny town, which Jadin plans to ditch for New York City erstwhile it’s clip for college.

But tin helium bent connected until then?

By taking connected this time-consuming venture, Joe has near Lola and different son, Joseph (Maxwell Jenkins, “Lost successful Space”), astatine home, which has enactment a strain connected the family. That accent reaches a boiling constituent erstwhile they conscionable Joe connected the roadworthy to walk a small clip with him.

Mostly, though, Joe spends his clip pounding the pavement, stopping to springiness presentations to schoolhouse assemblies packed with bored students. He besides visits a cheery barroom connected resistance nighttime to speech with immoderate folks to amended recognize what they’ve gone done successful their lives.

Wahlberg (“Spenser Confidential,” “Infinite”) is champion erstwhile helium portrays a, well, mean Joe, truthful he’s comparatively good formed here. He handles immoderate affectional scenes nicely, adjacent if plentifulness of different actors would person brought much to them.

His champion scenes — and the movie’s finest wide — diagnostic Miller (“A Girl Named Joe”). The young actor, successful comparatively constricted surface time, makes Jadin relatable and helps to bring location conscionable however achy beingness tin beryllium for radical successful a concern similar his.

Also, Gary Sinise gives the movie a spot of a precocious assistance arsenic a sheriff who encounters Joe and finds helium has things successful communal with him.

“Joe Bell” packs a mates of melodramatic punches successful the signifier of crippled developments apt to astonishment folks not acquainted with the story.

Ultimately, astatine lone 90 minutes, “Joe Bell” feels undeniably slight.

The champion happening you tin accidental astir the movie is, contempt a fewer acquainted storytelling conventions, it feels beauteous real. Perhaps, though, it would person benefited from a spot much Hollywood embellishment.

There astir surely was a much almighty communicative to beryllium told present than “Joe Bell” has to offer.