Higher Ground

Saw Higher Ground, a religious film about a woman undergoing a crisis of faith. I don't know what denomination she is exactly, but there's immersion baptism and talk of elders, so maybe this tells you something. Anyway, religion is very rarely treated honestly and seriously by films. Mostly religious films are preaching to the choir about problems whose solution is always more sacrifice and faith. Every so often you get a film which lazily uses religion as a scape-goat for the world's problems, portraying religious folks as deluded at best and dangerously evil at worst. This film, then, is immensely refreshing.

It portrays a woman in a community which is deeply religious. It's not a cheerleader for this community but neither does it portray the members as cultists or lunatics. They are people who are goofy and friendly, judgmental but supremely sincere. There's talk of a literal hell but also of endless compassion. The central woman begins to feel talked-down to and repressed by her church. She begins to regard the parables and metaphors as overly simplistic and manipulative. At one point a pastor (or elder or something) asks her if she wants to go to heaven with her husband and kids, or if she wants to be left out in the cold with the dogs. She (very appropriately) rolls her eyes at this.

The film is ultimately a drama about a woman who is unsure if she can stay in the family that she's built around herself. It's essentially A Doll's House all over again, but through the lens of faith this time. It's very focused on characters and emotions and although I believe it's trying to walk the tightrope of appealing to both secular and religious audiences, I don't think it succeeds very well. The central woman is sometimes selfish and sometimes stupid. There are unflattering names for stupid, selfish woman which an uncharitable viewer might be eager to apply to her (but of course we are all stupid sometimes. We are all selfish.) This film valiantly attempts to be honest in an area where there is much deception (and most of it self-deception, I believe.) I found the film very touching, very honest, and completely impossible to recommend to anyone.