Despair is not quiet for a broken father (Aaron Paul) and his troublemaker sons in Kat Candler's brisk, transfixing drama, which takes place in blue-collar southeast Texas.

"Hellion" pads its slender, commonplace, but potentially rewarding premise with contrivances, clichs, repetitiousness, and, when all else fails, implausible, arbitrary melodrama.

Not that inarticulate characters can't be compelling if they are written with subtlety, acted with insight and, most of all, framed by a directorial vision, but "Hellion," despite a promising debut from Wiggins, falls short in at least two of the above.

Kat Candler's exploration of toxic male adolescence is handsome and haunting, with a star-making performance by young star Josh Wiggins...