Them That Follow movie review

MOVIE TITLE: THEM THAT FOLLOW

RATING: R

LENGTH: 1 hour, 38 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: B-

IN A NUTSHELL:

This “slow burn” thriller is also a coming-of-age story of a young woman whose family belongs to a religious group that uses snakes in their worship. Dan Madison Savage and Britt Poulton are the writers and directors of this thought-provoking drama that respectfully presents a Christian sect and sub-culture that very few people have been exposed to. It earned a 10-minute standing ovation when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

Like a poisonous snake, this movie will bite you in the brain and heart. If you don’t like snakes, don’t watch this movie!

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

An unmarried woman pees on the ground to take a pregnancy test.
Someone gets bit by a snake, cuts the bloody skin, and sucks out the venom.
Someone gets his arm sawed off. Thankfully, you don’t have to see it in detail, but you know it’s happening.
Pre-marital “relations.”
People put a snake on them to show their faith. If you see this movie with your children, please talk to them about “safe” ways to show our faith.

THEMES:

“We all got our sins, don’t we?” – Hope (Olivia Coleman)
“Who you choose, girl, chooses your whole life.” – Hope
“You need someone to see the truth even when you don’t.” – Hope

THINGS I LIKED:

Olivia Colman is outstanding, but that’s no surprise since she won the 2019 Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in The Favourite. What is surprising is how she has transformed into a backwoods store owner and community matriarch with a southern twang. She’s amazing.
Walton Goggins is the perfect southern pastor in his role as Lemuel. He’s creepy and sincere at the same time.
Australian actress Alice Englert gives a subtle but powerful performance.
Kaitlyn Dever was great in Booksmart although I hated that movie. You can read my movie review of Booksmart here. Her character is the polar opposite in this movie, attesting to her talent.
The movie was filmed in Youngstown and Salem, Ohio although the story is supposed to take place in Appalachia.
I love symbolism. The snakes in this movie are real, but they also represent the first “sin” of Adam and Eve., as well as being deceived.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

This is not everyone’s cup of tea.
Many will say that nothing really happens and that it’s boring.
It’s always a bit odd to see comedian Jim Gaffigan in dramatic movies. I absolutely love his stand-up comedy specials. The first time I saw him in a drama was in the movie Chappaquiddick. I’m not saying he doesn’t do a good job in dramas. He does. It always just throws me off. Good for him for being such a versatile performer.
No humor at all.
So much time was spent on the characters and yet we still didn’t know that much about them in the end.
It seemed like so much more could have been done to play with symbolism and/or explore the religion on a deeper level.
Because of the presence of Oscar-winning Olivia Coleman, I expected the movie to be really fantastic. It was good, but not as phenomenal as I had hoped.