Tuesday, January 17, 2012

HIGHER GROUND

"Higher Ground" with Vera Farmiga. Really good and confronted every issue that we face almost, especially as relates to life. And, it did it from the Christian fundamentalist view; the pastor with regular meetings of the "house" church idea (small group meeting away from the Church) where their fundamentalist views are regularly reinforced. The pastor constantly says, "God says" without ever saying where God says it. In the movie, there's no judgment or putting down the church. What is different than any movie I've seen along this line is that the protagonist, Vera Farmiga, best known for her role with George Connery in Up In The Air, is great with facial expressions that project exactly what she is thinking but doesn't say. She is what sets this movie apart. It reminded me a little of Robert Duvall in "The Apostle." There's one of the funniest scenes in the movie that I've ever seen. The Lord leads the pastor to discuss with the men that they are not looking after their wives sexually. So, he has them listen to these casette tapes that are very explicit (The expressions on the men's faces are priceless i. e., location of the clitoris, etc). This was serious as God told the pastor to do this (small segment of movie). The most sobering part of the movie has to do with Farmiga's vibrant and very effusive best friend who is struck down with a brain tumor. The surgery leaves her as a shell of her former self while the church celebrates the miracle that she is alive. Farmiga is wrought up bigtime in trying to reconcile this. I am thinking about the pastor and these people, "are there really people like this out there? Answer: YES! Help!  
Super movie. See!!!

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