Thursday, October 13, 2011

Higher Ground (2011)

Way better and more layered than we expected, Vera Farmiga's directorial debut about a woman's quest for her faith kept Jack and me entertained the whole time, despite our mutual lack of bible study. Adapted by Carolyn S. Briggs and Tim Metcalfe (story for Revenge of the Nerds (1984), more) from Briggs' memoir, it features Farmiga (Oscar-nominated for Up in the Air, BAFTA winner for The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, good in The Departed (2006)) as Corinne, a totally believable believer in the early 1970s (because in the trailer the women wear long tresses and dresses and the men have beards I wasn't sure until today in which century it was set). We noticed the dramatic resemblance to Farmiga of the actress playing the teenage Corinne, which was explained by the fact that it is Taissa Farmiga, her sister, in her big screen debut. There's a big cast that includes Donna Murphy (best known for her stage work, she was also good in the mini-series Murder One (1995-6), The Fountain (2006), more) and John Hawkes (Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005), American Gangster (2007), Oscar-nominated for Winter's Bone) as Corinne's parents, Boyd Holbrook (Mykail in The Big C and a small part in Milk) and Joshua Leonard as Corinne's teenage and adult husband Ethan.

The movie is deliberately vague about the location, but it was shot in various New York state locations, including Kingston, about 15 miles up the Hudson from Poughkeepsie, by Michael McDonough, who also shot Winter's Bone, among others.

You can listen to the lovely guitar-heavy soundtrack composed by Alec Puro (The Art of Getting By, others) on this link, but do see the movie, which will, like the one below, also be playing at my local theatre at least until October 20.

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