The new film, “Joe Bell,” charts the true story of a working-class father (played by Mark Wahlberg) who begins walking to New York after his gay son Jadin (Reid Miller) takes his own life after being bullied. “Joe Bell” premiered at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival and opens in theaters this week.
It has a screenplay by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, who won an Oscar for “Brokeback Mountain.” Miller had not heard of the story before he was cast, because it happened when he was very young at the time. “I had heard rumors and whispers about it in my town, but I never did any research,” he said. “Once I got the job, I did a lot of research.” Miller wore Bell’s clothes, used his iPod, watched home videos of him, and talked to his