Wacky Bastards

Lets give credit where credit is due – Bravo, Vera Farmiga! Bravo!

In a nutshell, “Higher Ground” is a story about a woman struggling with faith and family in the midst of the loss of a friend rendered a vegetable after a botched surgery. The film stars Vera Farmiga, John Hawkes and Norbert Leo Butz

This film marks Vera Farmiga’s first attempt at directing… and it’s a hell of an attempt, if I do say so myself. Higher Ground is a marvelous depiction of how to maintain one’s faith during times of turmoil, from a traditional, southern, church-going woman’s perspective. What Higher Ground is not is a Christian film trying to shove religion down the viewer’s throat.  The material is handled very well by Farmiga who shows the joys of worship, faith, motherhood and friendship. She does well not to satirize the characters of the film and in it the charm of a small congregation truly comes across, while at the same time showing the potholes that a small church can face in dealing with women. So many times Christians have a tendency to romanticize marriages between individuals who share a strong faith in God as being indestructible. You know the saying – “The couple that prays together, stays together”. Well that guarantees nothing, as Higher Ground shows through the crumbling marriage of Farmiga’s character Corinne Walker and her husband Ethan Miller, played by Joshua Leonard. Corinne and Ethan’s holy bond is tested by her unholy desires.

Deleon’s Final Dish: Much can be said about this movie and not every moment in the film is a golden one, but it is definitely worth checking out. Don’t expect to walk out of this flick a more enlightened individual, just an individual who feels Farmiga’s directorial debut was well worth the price of admission.

Beginners is a film that explores the complexities of love and loss through the eyes of it’s main character, Oliver, played by Ewan McGregor. The story opens months after his father Hal(Christopher Plummer) has passed away. After drowning in a sea of depression Oliver meets and falls in love with a  young, beautiful and spontaneous french woman named Anna(Melanie Laurent). This new love floods his mind with memories of his father whom after his mother passed- at age 75- opens up to Oliver about being gay and living a vibrant gay lifestyle. Oliver, who has had a history of pushing women away must now make a sacrifice to keep the woman he has now fallen in love with.

Beginners is one of those gems that sneaks into theaters and is gone before you know it. The story utilizes flashbacks involving Oliver’s deceased parents and explores the contrast of love and marriage in the 60′s and 70″s versus the present. Each moment is handled with care especially in dealing with his fathers death. Charlie Chaplin knew that the best relief for drama was laughter, which is exactly how the director, Mike Mills, approaches this film. He shows us that  in the midst of great pain, and even love, there can be humor. This film shines a beautiful light on the hilarity, joy and pains of love and will have you walking away with a smile because it shows you the beauty of everyday life, love and comforts you in it’s portrayal of the loss of a loved one.

You may be reading this and thinking to yourself “but what the heck is Beginners about?” Well it’s about a lot of things and it’s layers run deep, so your best bet is to just go see it.

Deleon’s Final Dish: Superb story, great cast and wonderful direction, which means “be sure and check this one out”. Any true movie fan will enjoy it. Promise!