BCDF Pictures, Group Entertainment, The, Ruminant Films,
Vera Farmiga, Donna Murphy, John Hawkes, Dagmara Dominczyk, Nina Arianda, Joshua Leonard, Bill Irwin, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Norbert Leo Butz
Corinne (Vera Farmiga, who also directed) is a Christian lady. From the time she was a little girl she was faced with how to deal with her faith. Through adulthood she struggled with life, her friends, her marriage, and the trials and tribulations that followed her while struggling to understand her faith. Based on the memoir of Caroly S. Briggs who wrote the screenplay, this film looks at the nature of faith, and how it affects different people.
This is a film about God and human beings. It’s about religion, and faith and belief, and troubles and questions. But it’s not picking sides, and it’s neither anti religion, nor is it pro religion. Unlike any film I’ve ever seen, this is a level ground look at religion and churches without taking sides.
I’ve often pondered on people who are really religious. I’ve wondered why their lives are fully engulfed by their church or their faith. I’ve heard people who give God credit for everything. Though their tires are bald, God caused that flat tire on the freeway so that I could testify to that trucker who stopped to help me. God made me choke on that piece of chicken so that I could tell the paramedics about Jesus. My child died because God had a need for him in heaven and he was too good for this world.
I have decided that many people are uber religious for different reasons. To some it is a crutch or something they need to make sense out of the world. To some it’s because they are bit off in the head. Like little children who want to believe in a wizard who will help them when they don’t know what to do. Some really, really have a deep desire to help people and do good things in their lives. Some are lonely, some are sad. And some really seem to be touched by a spirit that really does make a big impact in their life. Certainly I’m not qualified to determine what is right for anyone else, and I am ultimately responsible for my own convictions and beliefs. But this film is a really good and fair look into the lives of many people and what makes them do what they do.
I really enjoyed watching this film, and it did make me very thoughtful. I’m really not sure why there is an R rating, although it’s fine because it’s probably not going to be a big hit with the under 16 crowd anyway due to the nature of things. I guess there are a few discussions that could be a little intense for kids, but they are tastefully done.
One of the highlights for me of the film is one character who takes it upon herself to straighten out other people and point out the errors of their ways. someone who really thinks she’re right is making a jerk of herself by trying to enforce her opinion on everyone else. This is tactfully obvious, and I hope a lot of the people who act this way see themselves and what they do, and that it might do some good.
Anyway, in my opinion, this film, though directly about religion, is much more about people than anything else. I thought it was a thought provoking film, and it spawned a lot of reflection for me. Not for everybody, but if you have an interest in films that make you look at the world around you and ponder why it’s what it is, this is a good one.
