Baldoni does a fine job at portraying a character who’s more complicated than their actions might suggest (with a groan worthy late film twist attempting to explain away his tempestuous nature), but he’s not bringing anything to the table as a director other than making sure things look credible, if unexceptional. It’s also clear to see that Baldoni and the cast are fighting against some of the book’s worse impulses and notions, with a lot of the cornier aspects (the ridiculous names, the old “noble poor kid makes good” trope, a false sense of being empowering) suppressing the chance to make something more realistic from this material.