Nor is it “The Passion of the Christ,” but it’s an honest study about one person’s lifelong, in-andout struggle with issues of her faith, from die-hard believer to doubting Thomas. The indie drama opens soon at AMC Quail Springs Mall 24, 2501 W. Memorial.
Based on a true story, the film finds Farmiga playing the central character, Corrine. Brought up in a fundamentalist community where reading “Lord of the Flies” and wearing a shoulder-baring maternity dress are big “no-no”s, her faith is rock-solid during her marriage to longtime boyfriend Ethan (Joshua Leonard, “Shark Night 3D”), but fractures form once tragedy strikes a dear friend.
When Corrine questions why she feels like she’s “wrestling something nameless,” she encounters not answers, but admonitions that run counter to the kindness she’s long lived. Alone, she prays aloud, “Lord, help me. I can’t feel you. I feel nothing. Draw near to me. Where are you?” His location may not be what every moviegoer prays she’ll find, but through Farmiga’s hands, Corrine’s journey seems earnest and real, without casting judgment on either side.
No one’s a caricature to be ridiculed.
Naturally, Corrine’s the most fleshed-out character of them all, and Farmiga is excellent, even if the movie is just OK (the “Precious”-esque dream sequences do some credibility damage). It’s worth seeing simply for her final-scene speech — can she get an “Amen”?
This article appears in Sep 7-13, 2011.