I haven't been able to stop thinking about Higher Ground. It's been quite a while
since I've been so profoundly impacted by a movie. The last time I wept like I
did at the end of Higher Ground was when I first saw Dead Man Walking a couple years ago. It's just hard for a movie to
get me right in the heart these days. And Higher Ground
did just that.
Vera
Farmiga (The Departed, Up in the Air) makes her directorial
debut with this film about Corinne, a young woman who, at a very early age,
accepts Jesus into her heart. She does so, in a way, out of curiosity and, as a
result, it's not long before she realizes that she's not completely convinced
by the whole thing. The majority of the film is a test of her faith and a
journey of deciding whether or not the whole Jesus thing is really worth the
commitment.
The
reason I loved the film so much was that it stuck to its convictions. I've come
to respect that a lot now. I don't care if you make a movie about Christianity
or Islam or Buddhism or Satanism, for that matter, but if a filmmaker refuses
to deal the audience in, if a filmmaker refuses to show us the real inner
workings of that religion, if a filmmaker refuses to speak the truth about its beliefs
and believers, then I've got no interest in it. Higher Ground sticks to its
guns "“ whether you like it or not "“ and for that it earned a lot of respect
from me. It's earnest, heartfelt filmmaking that transcends religious and
spiritual barriers.
Farmiga
is as great in front of the camera as she is behind it and, as always, manages
to bring the whole film up a notch. Some of the other performances are worth
watching as well, but ultimately, Higher
Ground is so impressive because it's risky filmmaking. Those who want to
mock it will find plenty of reasons because Higher
Ground doesn't compromise at all, but it's not every day you see a film
that wrestles with faith and doubt in such an authentic manner; Farmiga's
Higher Ground is off to a great start
