Kicked the can and triggered memories of my own catholic school daze in a rush and a flush. Back in the days when the only play at recess was: go out long. I remember loving the girl's uniforms; especially the ones for gym class. The way I'd always feel hormonally pensive during morning mass. How Jesus' wounds looked so feminine up there on that splintery cross. The stained glass for a stained class scarlet-lettered by original sin. So glad I deprogrammed myself soon after graduation. I digress.
Considering that the majority of this film's cast was in fact composed mostly of newcomers, I think they pulled it off. No, it's not as glossy or lachrymose as the Virgin Suicides, or as cracked out wacky as Take Shelter, two I'd compare it to, if only on a thematic and atmospheric level. Yes, there are a handful of half-daft moments (mostly offered up by the ancillary and tertiary characters, overuse of trans-fat yellow hues and some very poor framing) but these are overshadowed by solid, emotive performances by the father and three sisters. Belle, in particular, is incandescent and has the kind of on screen presence that makes you take pause. Hell's Belle in that Devil's costume would make even Dante blush. She's her own inferno. Dug the way the family's dull home is sort of the objective correlative of a Christian psalm about the meek inheriting the Earth. Deeply dug the rapture imagery, the father's hypocritical self-deceit manifested in recurring battles with bottles, the dueling themes of escape, and the well-timed/executed tragic flashback scenes, too. The televangelist Peltz was spot on realistic with the old compensate for my lack of sincerity with avarice-fueled charisma. He had the swagger of a young Jimmy Swaggart. I also loved the haunting soundtrack/score. The spectral vocals reminded me a little bit of the creepy nuns singing some of the darker hymns from back in the day (Under the Weight of the Wood comes to mind). The at times dirge-like music complimented the languid pacing of the film, not unlike the watery church wine used to do for that dry paper wafer during communion. Amen!
