Higher Ground [Blu-ray]

Joshua Leonard

Overview

Actress Vera Farmiga makes her feature directorial debut with this adaptation of Carolyn S. Briggs' autobiography, This Dark World: A Memoir of Salvation Found and Lost. Haunted by a low sense of self-worth ever since her childhood in the 1960s, Corrine finds her happy family falling apart by the time she reaches high school, and seeks comfort in the arms of talented young guitarist Ethan. Later compelled to join a tight-knit fundamentalist community that offers both security and spiritual nourishment, Corrine and Ethan discover a sense of peace that ultimately proves short-lived once the more conservative tenets of the congregation start to take priority. Her illusions of the ideal faith-based community shattered, Corrine begins to question her entire belief system as her life starts to unravel once again. Joshua Leonard and John Hawkes co-star.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/10/2012
UPC:	0043396392168
Original Release:	2011
Rating:	R
Source:	Sony Pictures
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:52:00
Sales rank:	36,623

Special Features

Deleted scenes, Commentary with Vera Farmiga, Joshua Leonard & Renn Hawkey; The Making of Higher Ground

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Joshua Leonard	Ethan Miller,Hope
Norbert Leo Butz	Pastor Bill
McKenzie Turner	Young Corinne Walker
Matthew Dubas	Salesman
Taylor Schwencke	Young Wendy Walker
Jillian Lindig	Mrs. Tuttle
Alden Rosakranse	Tim
Taissa Farmiga	Teenage Corinne Walker
James Noon	Kirk
Kaitlyn Rae King	Teenage Wendy Walker
Brandon Boyer	Mike
Harrison Basch	Renegade
Noah Bowman	Renegade
Booker James Winter	Biology Teacher
Luella Roche	Younger Abigail Miller
Sarah Banks	Younger Lily Miller
Dagmara Dominczyk	Annika
Barbara Tuttle	Deborah
Molly Hawkey	Molly
Frank Goodyear	Dr. Frank Barnes
Charles Glaser	Woody
Lucy Owen	Joanna
Nina Arianda	Wendy Walker
Joseph Sinagra	Cop
Sarah Little	Older Abigail Miller
Zoe Pipa	Older Lily Miller
Mathew Biltonen	Gabe Miller
Sonia T. Gittens	Nurse
Eli Rubinstein	7-Year-Old Boy
Amy Helm	Amy
Machan Taylor	Machan
Jorgen Jorgenson	Jorgen
Tom Cherwin	Man in Counseling Office
Laurel S. Andretta	Woman in Counseling Office
Karen Keefe	Receptionist
Jack Gilpin	Dr. Adams
Sean Mahon	Liam
Natalie Thomas	Liam's Wife
Terry McKenna	Pawn Shop Worker
Deborah Hedwall	Faye
Donna Murphy	Kathleen Walker
Warren Haynes	Warren
Oliver Wood	Oliver
Alec Puro	Composer

Technical Credits

Carolyn S. Briggs

Tim Metcalfe

Joshua Leonard	Director
Norbert Leo Butz	Director
Dagmara Dominczyk	Director
John Hawkes	Director
Bill Irwin	Director
Ebon Moss-Bachrach	Director
Donna Murphy	Director
Carly Hugo	Producer
Claude DalFarra	Producer,Executive Producer
Jon Rubinstein	Producer
Renn Hawkey	Producer
Matt Parker	Producer
Lauren Munsch	Executive Producer
Jonathan Burkhart	Executive Producer
Carolyn S. Briggs	Screenwriter,Executive Producer
Tim Metcalfe	Screenwriter,Executive Producer

Editorial Reviews

You can count on one hand the number of American movies that take the question of religion seriously. Not the big themes like "Is there a God?," but the more immediate question of how do you live your life in an honorable Christian way every single day, and what happens when you grow to genuinely question your faith? Vera Farmiga's directorial debut, Higher Ground, addresses these issues with a low-key intensity -- it strives for truth as much as the main character does. Adapted from a memoir by Carolyn S. Briggs (she co-authored the screenplay with Tim Metcalfe), Higher Ground follows Corinne (Farmiga) during her quest, beginning at childhood, to live a Christian life. We first see her at a young age, witnessing her parents' affection for each other, and soon enough raising her hand when a local minister asks a children's group who is ready to receive Christ. In her teen years she falls for classmate Ethan (Joshua Leonard), the leader of a popular local rock band. They marry young, have a baby, and after a scary car accident on the way to a gig that almost kills their infant daughter, decide to rededicate their lives to their religion. They eventually join a church led by the paternalistic Bill (Norbert Leo Butz). Probably because Corinne purposefully chooses to lead a somewhat sheltered life, she's drawn to the free-spirited Annika (Dagmara Dominczyk), her best friend in the congregation. Annika seems to have found the right balance of devotion to God -- Corinne is blown away by her friend's ability to speak in tongues -- and enjoying earthly delights -- in one of their many bonding moments they each sketch their husband's penis. Their friendship brings out the best in both women, and over the course of a decade or so, Corinne grows to rely on Annika when her faith in the Lord and her husband starts to waver. There really isn't much narrative drive in the movie, and that's just fine because Farmiga -- as both an actor and a director -- wants to go deep into the character. Her naturalism as a performer extends to her work behind the camera; she has cast the film to perfection, and gives her actors enough space so that they all register, even if none of them gets as much screen time as Corinne. John Hawkes is typically superb as her loving father, Butz makes Bill into one of the few cinematic religious leaders who doesn't seem at all corrupted by the power he has, and Dominczyk turns Annika into the kind of best friend we all wish for. Farmiga also has a gift for editing that breaks away from standard convention. She'll focus on characters that seem to be secondary to a scene, and in doing so makes connections that deepen our understanding of everyone in the movie -- a tactic used to great effect during a birthday party late in the film. While the movie treats the characters' religious beliefs with nothing but respect, it doesn't shy away from pointing out the occasional ridiculousness of certain behaviors, a prime example being a lesson Bill offers the men on how to satisfy their wives' sexual needs. The scene is a comedic highpoint not because it's mocking their lack of knowledge, but because the awkwardness of the situation can't be ignored. Farmiga's humanistic approach builds power very slowly, almost imperceptibly. There's a refrain throughout the early part of the film that Corinne isn't musical, that she's never found her instrument. The film's concluding scene is a speech she gives in front of loved ones and the congregation -- she testifies about her belief as well as her doubt. In that moment we see she's found her instrument, that whatever the status of her marriage and her religious conviction, she's finally able to articulate to others the powerful emotions within her. It's a remarkable climax that showcases how good an actress Farmiga is, and illustrates how smartly she's directed her first feature.