I watched this movie with no prior knowledge of plot or reviews other than what was printed on the DVD case. What early on seemed to hold a lot of promise, and some thought-provoking ideas, ended up being muddled and disappointing. Elizabeth Moss acts her heart out as Jessie, the smoking, drinking, shoplifting daughter of born-again Christians. Jessie can not conform to her family's moral dictates, or to the traditional expectations of what is or is not appropriate behavior for a young girl. She wants to be special, and she is. There are things that she "knows" through psychic inner vision. And when the boy she loves rapes her while she is passed out, Jessie "knows" that she is pregnant, but not that she had sex. Instead she "knows" that God told her she is carrying the next Christ. The movie then explores how Jessie, her family, and others in her circle of fellow humans deal with the situation.
Some of the best scenes/ideas include: Jessie declaring that being the mother of Christ isn't special enough; being Christ is. Jessie's sister's anger because God would choose the less righteous Jessie to talk to rather than her own pious self. Jessie comforting and dancing with her grieving mother (although Robin Wright Penn really overdoes the tears and sobbing ). The way Jessie pushes those she loves away by loving them too openly and aggressively.
Some of the scenes/ideas that detracted from the story: The crazy lady wailing for her lost babies turns up about five times more often than necessary. The lesbian sex scene seemed thrown in for no good reason, unless to underscore the heavy handed depiction of most all the males in the film as slimy spineless threats. The naked townsfolk gathered in a hand-holding circle in the water to celebrate a birth, was just embarrassing.
Overall the movie held my interest. The pace never dragged. The camera was brutally unflattering in it's close-ups showing every wart and flaw. The production was gritty, never slick. If only the touches of feminist preachiness had been left out, it would have held together better.
Some of the best scenes/ideas include: Jessie declaring that being the mother of Christ isn't special enough; being Christ is. Jessie's sister's anger because God would choose the less righteous Jessie to talk to rather than her own pious self. Jessie comforting and dancing with her grieving mother (although Robin Wright Penn really overdoes the tears and sobbing ). The way Jessie pushes those she loves away by loving them too openly and aggressively.
Some of the scenes/ideas that detracted from the story: The crazy lady wailing for her lost babies turns up about five times more often than necessary. The lesbian sex scene seemed thrown in for no good reason, unless to underscore the heavy handed depiction of most all the males in the film as slimy spineless threats. The naked townsfolk gathered in a hand-holding circle in the water to celebrate a birth, was just embarrassing.
Overall the movie held my interest. The pace never dragged. The camera was brutally unflattering in it's close-ups showing every wart and flaw. The production was gritty, never slick. If only the touches of feminist preachiness had been left out, it would have held together better.