After a rapid ascension to the acting sub A-list in films like The Departed (2006) and Up in the Air (2009) (for which she received an Oscar nomination), Vera Farmiga has thrown her weight behind a more intimate, personal story for her directorial debut. Based on a non-fiction book by Carolyn S. Briggs and adapted by Briggs and Tim Metcalfe, Higher Ground is the chronicle of a woman’s life, from early childhood in the 1960’s, to marriage and a religious awakening that eventually crumbled.
Farmiga herself plays the central figure of Corinne, whose first love, rock vocalist Ethan (Boyd Holbrook) quickly becomes her husband and father of her first child. Whilst Ethan’s band is on the road, a near calamity occurs an accident that sees the near drowning of their daughter. In the wake of this near miss, Ethan probes and evaluates the event’s meaning, concluding that God has portentously placed his hand directly in their path. Corinne feels much the same way, though without quite the same level of fervour in pursuing her own acquirement of faith.
The bulk of the film is a gentle evocation of their life amongst like-minded people of their religious persuasion. Minor tempests rage as when Corinne’s much loved but non-believing sister, Wendy (Nina Arianda), comes to visit, placing a strain on their relationship and Corinne’s with the community at large. Often Corinne is shown with a note of doubt reflecting in her gaze: does she believe in the ways of her church as wholeheartedly as the others?
The decimation of her relationship with closest friend Annika (Dagmara Dominczyk) struck down by a brain tumour which effectively blanks her carefree personality seems to strike a deeper of chord of doubt and may be the point at which her faith begins to inexorably unravel. Hypocrisies in her husband’s attitude and behaviour add coal to the fire and the cumulative effect sees her relationship to both Ethan and God tainted.
What gives Higher Ground (2011) credibility is its lack of moral grandstanding or manipulative delineation of right and wrong. Farmiga, as well as giving a strong performance, proves to be a sensitive, instinctive filmmaker in her own right, bringing no rash judgement to bear on this insulated religious community.
Neither demonised nor idealised, these people are seen as enraptured by their own vision of goodness, yet without evil intent or a desire to cast a wider net and brainwash unwilling subjects. The result is an honest, gently affecting film.
Though not one without flaws it must be said; for instance, it suffers from a confusing non-linear structure in the first act (not helped by Farmiga’s younger sister Taissa playing Corinne as a teenager). The fantastic John Hawkes, in what amounts to no more than a clichéd sketch, is painfully wasted as Corinne’s father; at only 14 years older than Farmiga he seems miscast as well. Then there’s the peculiar aesthetic decision to shoot the film in a way that gives the impression of it unfolding beneath a faint white veil.
I say:
A very decent small-scale drama that may not be riveting exactly but is free of calculation and cynicism in its depiction of faith.
See it for:
The balanced portrayal of its characters and approach to the manin subject manner.
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