Vera Farmiga has always been a favourite actress of mine, especially since she completely won me over with her work in Up in the Air. So naturally, when I heard that she was going to be directing her own little film, Higher Ground, I got pretty excited. My 'excitement lights' were dimmed as the year went on, especially as her film wasn't getting any closer to a release date. Upon seeing it, I can only but wonder whether the fact that it slipped under the radar was something that was right for it, or completely wrong for it. Let's divvy it up:
This is an important film. Why? It looks at a woman's connection with faith throughout her life. As far as I'm concerned, faith and religion aren't the most prominent themes in film. Especially ones that actually look at the connect and the disconnect between someone and their religion. Most of all, it is a fairly accurate portrayal of someone processing all of the emotions inside of them. This isn't the sort of film that usually makes the rounds - well, the American rounds, anyway. Like wine, I'm sure this will only get better as it ages. However...
It isn't a particularly exciting film. For all it's possible importance, there's little holding all the shining moments together. It rolls out like a typical 'chronicle' film, teetering on the edge of 'textbook American independent films 101', repeating itself and going on such strange routes that never get fully realised. Vera Farmiga often approaches subtlety, which is something that I genuinely enjoy in films, but in this film, that subtlety never builds up to anything more - something that I felt it needed. It is a bit of a flat experience for the most part, particularly as it some of the scenes are so brilliant on their own that they don't have the glue to stick them together.
However. The performances are all great. Especially Farmiga's, which was quite different to anything I've seen her do. Plus, she's a dab hand behind the camera, too. I can't wait to see her next effort.
What I got:
