Higher Ground

directed by Vera Farmiga (2011)

This is Vera Farmiga's directorial debut, and she also stars in this exploration of faith and religion.  It's based on the book, This Dark World, a memoir authored by Carol S. Briggs.  It has the mundane ordinariness of a real person's story rather than the high drama of made up conflict, but that doesn't make it less interesting.  In fact I found it a very rewarding watch.  The heart of the flick centres on Corinne Walker's (Farmiga) struggle with faith, belief, and dogma.  The film tracks her religious journey starting right from childhood when she accepts Jesus into her heart at bible camp.  I could relate to that scene.  I went to bible camp the summer I was 10, and I felt such pressure there to embrace a fundamentalist faith.  I wanted to believe so bad I almost convinced myself I did.  I so wanted to belong to that Christian cult, and I really did want Jesus to live in my heart too.  I remember how they told me how I'd burn in hell if I didn't believe, and that saddled me with guilt and shame. I didn't want to be a sinner damned to hell.  I felt inadequate and ashamed because I bought into their propaganda, but when they told me I was a sinner, that only resonated because I already felt unsure of myself.  That's the default mode of the modern human condition,  and it's part and parcel of growing up that you feel inadequate and unsure of who you are or how to define yourself.  And that uncertainty and fear and plasticity of identity is what religion, especially Christianity capitalises on, at least the more fundamentalist branches of Christianity really push that whole shame thing down your throat with the idea of original sin.

And what is up with original sin anyhow?  It seems like such contrived bullshit to me.  The idea is just silly! When I see animals or children doing their thing,  the absurdity of sin as a concept becomes so obvious, because kids and animals are just natural, and wild, and free, and sin has no place in their actions.  I don't thin either kids or animals ponder much on the morality of their actions.  Perhaps they do, but original sin?  Come on, that idea seems entirely man made.  In fact, morals, ethics, all that jazz, are just so much ideas and abstraction borne of self aware consciousness.

Back to the movie though...

Vera has a whole lot happen in her life, not big bad things, just general life kinda stuff that makes her question religion and the validity of doubt, or rather the validity of faith.  At least that's what I got out of the film.  There's a great scene at the end where she does a monologue on her gradual acceptance of her doubt, and to me that was much more liberating and enlightening than the dogmatic ritual of the faithful could ever be.  I even agreed with her envy of their faith. I used to wish I could have that comfort and assuredness that seems to come with belief.  I just don't seem to have that in me though.

Yeah, I am a doubting Thomas, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that.  In fact, I think there's a whole lot more right with being a doubter than there is right about being a believer.  I could be wrong about that, but it's not that important.  I'm content being a questioner; it fits me better than zealotry.

I liked the soundtrack a whole lot too..  There's a bunch of gospel musics, many of them sung by Ollabelle and the lovely voiced Amy Helm. 

Farmiga sings some too and she's got a good voice as well, but what I've always noticed first about her is the way she looks.  Not to take away from her achievements as an actor/director, either.  I just think she's gorgeous and that her looks would fit well in period pieces.  I always get the feeling of the past and art models when I see her, a Pre-Raphaelite or maybe a Vermeer.  She's a Botticelli on the band-shell, performing gospels in the this flick.

Footloose (2011)

directed by Craig Brewer (2011)

The town that banned dancing!  This is a ridiculous premise for a movie, but I guess when you're doing remakes from the 80's you're forced to stay within the confines of whatever terrible concept.  I mean, you don't absolutely have to, some remakes only borrow the name to bring brand familiarity to the game.  This remake is not one of those though.  Too bad. It could have been about a dude who dances his way across America in a wheelchair after a terrible tour in Iraq,  or maybe a guy who couldn't stop dancing, like in that fairytale The Red Shoes. Or even a thiller solving the mystery of all the feet washing up on the shores of B.C.

Whatever, I don't remember the original very well except for the song and Kevin Bacon dancing around in tight jeans and cowboy boots to the Kenny Loggins' song.  I have vague recollections of the plot.

Actually, watching the remake revived more memories, like it was John Lithgow doing the preacher dude, I mean he wasn't doing him haha,  just portraying him.  This time it was Dennis Quaid playing the holy roller, and I kept thinking that it was kind of appropriate that Jerry Lee Lewis got all religious and turned his back on rock and roll.

I don't remember why the town banned dancing in the original, but I'm assuming it's because of a terrible drinking and driving auto wreck which wouldn't have happened if there hadn't been dancing before that to loosen the morals of the kids towards all that boozing for sexy time made them forget about how stupid it is to drink and drive, at least that's what happens in the remake.  The accident is pretty shocking.  I didn't expect it because I forgot that it was about a town that banned dancing and I was just enjoying the opening party dancing scene.  Gotta gotta cut loose.  I have to tell you it was a pretty harsh contrast and brought the start of the movie way down low.

When the Kevin Bacon replacement (Kenny Wormald) goes to school and almost gets into a fight with a tall hayseed, (Miles Teller),  I suddenly remembered, oh yeah, Christopher Penn  (RIP) played the local, because this guy is totally doing Christopher Penn doing that hayseed part.  It was my fave part of the movie.  Hayseed don't know how to dance so he's got to learn in a montage sequence, first the Kevin Bacon replacement's little cousins are teaching him their cute little girl dance moves - I guess they know the moves from watching TV or the kids teach each other, dance knowledge was only suppressed 3 years back, so I dunno, these girls are young, they probably only remember a town without dancing so dance osmosis potential has got to be the highest at their young age.   Whatever, it's a cute sequence, him all bumbly toed and then bringing it home with proper line dancing and what not.  I liked him the best in the film. Christopher Penn replacement, you dun good.

IMO, for a movie about kids being all footloose, there is too much emphasis on NON-dancing.  I know this is a town that banned dancing and the kids have to dance in secret, like the drive in hoedown, (btw it was kinda ridiculous that the old dude was smuggling in the crunk sounds - did this town ban the internets too?)  I just think there should have been more depictions of secret dance clubs and West Side Storyesque dance fighting or something, because the replacement activity - reckless car driving at the track, was not as much fun.  I mean it was OK, just I didn't expect Fast and Furious in the fields ya know?  And really, not as many people can race cars as can dance.  And the only racing that has a plot point is actually school bus racing which is not that fast to be honest.

The movie is dumb, but it's based on a dumb movie.  It's fun, but it has stretches of boredom and eye rollery stupid dialogues.  I particularly liked "You're hotter than socks on a rooster." I think the original was the same though.  Still I think the original is probably better.  The 80's version has better acting, but less dancing, though more iconic dancing I'm guessing.  I'm not sure though, the angry dance scene in the remake is maybe better, for sure more over the top with the emotive expression.  He is really venting with his choreography. They are both campy, so probably hit the old one if you're a retro hound with principles of holding out against the future or if you're feeling the 80's and want to see old stars when they were young. Check the remake if you want to hear remixes of the old tunes and  see new stars before they fizzle or shoot up or  should that be out? Who knows, both probably, this is the folks what live in n Hollyweird, and odds are some of these folk will end up in rehab.   Not Miles Teller I hope.  He's got a bright future I'd bet.