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(2011) BCDF Pictures.
Based
on Carolyn S. Briggs’ memoir, This Dark World,
HIGHER GROUND (now playing at Stamford’s Avon
Theatre) is a story about dealing with life through
religious beliefs. First-time director Vera Farmiga (Down
to the Bone, Up in the Air) chronicles three decades in
the life of Corinne Walker (masterfully played by
Farmiga), a young married mother of three whose life is
dedicated to strict Christian beliefs circa the nineteen
eighties. Her life seems perfectly normal for a while,
but after various challenges and tragedies enter her life
and the lives of the people who surround her, she begins
to doubt her own religious beliefs and enters a spiritual
journey tying to figure out how to retain her faith while
coping with overwhelming obstacles. This thoughtful study
of human relationships and self-discovery addresses
important issues about religion and the ways in which God
answers prayers. |
| When Corinne’s closest
friend, Annika (Dagmara Dominczyk) suffers a massive
brain tumor, her prayers are answered when Annika’s
life is spared, but she is left paralyzed and confined to
a wheelchair, leaving Corinne to question her faith.
Also, her husband, Ethan (played by Joshua Leonard), is
so obsessive in his religious belief, that it puts their
marriage in jeopardy. While some of the characters are
over zealous and hypocritical in their religious beliefs,
others are more moderate and use their faith in a
positive way to help them through life. Then, there is
Corinne, who decides to veer away from her family and her
religion and question the things that she has been
accustomed to. |
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| Filmed entirely in
Kingston, New York, HIGHER GROUND is superbly enacted and
captures the flavor of a Christian community with total
precision. What’s so exceptional about this movie is
the fact that it isn’t an attack on Christianity in
any way. It’s a thoughtful, honest presentation of
what many of us have asked spiritually when hardships
befall our lives. The film allows us to draw our own
conclusions and reminds us that religion is a very
personal spiritual outlet for comfort and happiness.
Thankfully, the movie does relate that each and every
person deals with religion on different grounds,
utilizing their beliefs in various levels of devotion.
While HIGHER GROUND may not be a film for everybody, I
feel that it is a very courageous movie and is worthy of
much discussion nevertheless. It’s a film that
definitely touches the heart and is not only thought
provoking, but emotion-filled, compassionate, sometimes
funny, and always interesting. |
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