A wonderfully thoughtful movie starring and directed by Vera Farmiga (stupendous actress) about a woman's search for a faith and guidelines for living. The religion she becomes part of is a Bible-quoting born-again revivalist rule-bound Christian one. The movie spans the time of her meeting her future husband in school and early marriage and the birth of her children (when the film ended her oldest dtr. looked to be about 15).
Nothing was overdone or dramatized like in a Hollywood blockbuster; everything was believable and the acting was superb with great music. It was not a judgmental opinionated film and yet it pointed out in poignant scenes the ever growing mound of obstacles, Carolyn (Farmiga) was encountering in immersing herself totally in this religion. Carolyn reacted with dislike against the extreme patriarchy and sexism, the strict adherence to a list of do's and don'ts, the dominance by the pastor, and probably the biggest one, the proclamation of hell and Satan-possession for any questioning or deviance from the preachings of the Bible.
Carolyn ends up leaving her husband and the final scene is her thanking the congregation for all the positives she has received throughout her life but also telling them of her need for a search for a more loving and nurturing faith.
My review is probably making this movie out to be a dry and plodding and dull Sunday Sermon film and it is anything BUT that. It was NOT a slow movie by any means. We both rated it a 9.
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