It's not escapist drama if the reality is that small-town Americans have big dreams that don't often come to fruition.

Just because people aren't inside city limits or well educated doesn't mean they're ignorant of their situation, wishing they had the means to better their lives. The problem with that analysis is the belief that people in rust belt towns don't pontificate the what-ifs without taking action. Part of the reason critics are panning American Rust is that they view the discussion on poverty as exploitative, even comparing it to their similar contempt for Hillbilly Elegy. It's not something that you see depicted often, and I appreciate the representation. I grew up with these weddings, and they don't feature an exclusive list of guests but an inclusive one that brings together an entire community for celebration regardless of their status. Southwestern wedding traditions are unique, from the Polka bands and DJs to the wedding buffet with rigatoni and stuffed cabbage to guests paying to dance with the bride. He went to great lengths to get it right for the area, too. It's not always pretty, but there are moments of joy.įutterman places great emphasis on a local wedding, for instance.

It's a story about small-town people and their daily struggles. I've seen the opioid crisis noted in several reviews of American Rust, but this isn't a story about a town ravaged by drugs. But he asks continually while leaning on Billy to flee Buell with him, something Billy both wants to do and dreads.ĭrugs are an inevitable coping mechanism across the world, not only in rural America. Isaac views his ties to Billy as a result of Billy's pain over losing Lee, and he may not be wrong. Lee was his first love, and losing her provided one more reason to give up on his future. That dynamic is all muddled with Billy in the middle. He's been caring for his infirmed father, Henry (Bill Camp), since his sister, Lee (Julia Maygora), fled to Yale and later New York City, where she married a man her family has never met. Newstaedter, best known for his role on Colony, is a little bit more mature as Billy but shows the same residual angst that he showed so well on the USA series.īilly's concern for his mother drives his decisions but tabling his own ambitions to be there for her doesn't do him any favors.īilly's best friend, Isaac (David Alvarez), is itching to get out of town. The dynamic between Del, Grace, and Virgil plays well and is a lot more based in reality than many would probably like to admit. He's also atoning for his perceived involvement in Billy's earlier situation. It's not as easy as Del doing it for Grace. It is also why, whether true or not, Del's first instinct is that Billy murdered the man in the mill, and his second is that he must protect him. That jacket belongs to Grace's son, Billy (Alex Neustaedter), a hometown football hero whose talents earned him a D-1 scholarship that he didn't take.īilly's life was upended with another incident, and it was enough to throw his entire future into question. Inside, he finds a body and a letterman's jacket.

The sticky wicket comes when Del takes a call about trouble at the mill on his day off. Trying to wean himself off the drugs becomes more of a challenge as things heat up after the murder.ĭel is courting local dressmaker Grace Poe (Maura Tierney), who is still married to her ex, Virgil (Mark Pellegrino), a relationship they are having a hard time shaking. Jeff Daniels stars as Police Chief Del Harris, a military veteran struggling with pain and PTSD, taking medication in such specific doses that he crushes pills to weigh them precisely. The characters aren't sophisticated, but that doesn't mean their values and struggles are unworthy of exploration. It is what you'll find.Īll of that is important so that you know what American Rust is portraying. It was filmed across southwestern Pennsylvania, and what you see isn't created for the show. Unfortunately, the smaller towns outside of the city haven't enjoyed the same renaissance.Īmerican Rust is set in the fictional town of Buell, an amalgamation of rural towns in the area. Philadelphia is an urban sprawl of a different nature, and there isn't much to compare.īecause of its history with steel production, Pittsburgh proper isn't at all what people expect. Pittsburgh is a small city with an expansive network so suburbs that meld into smaller towns. Set in southwestern Pennsylvania and involving a murder, people will want to compare it to Mare of Easttown, set in Eastern Pennsylvania and involving a murder.īut as anyone in Pennsylvania will tell you, the west is vastly different from the east.

Rust showtime