We watch a young Vance growing up in a household with his mother, Bev (Amy Adams), and his older sister, Lindsay (Haley Bennett) in poor neighborhoods in Middletown, Ohio. Plus, there is life with his grandmother, Mawmaw (Glenn Close), in Jackson, Kentucky, which is located in the heart of the Appalachian mountains.
Vance’s prospects are few, as most kids who come from the white working class are, and he’s most likely to follow the road his mother is on — alcohol, drugs, and a constant stream of lovers she hopes will keep her and her kids afloat. This is truly a hillbilly elegy.