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  Higher Ground
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Higher Ground

Director: Vera Farmiga - 109 mins

Reviewed by Andrew Laird

04 Nov 2011

9:43am Friday, 4th November 2011  

What does it mean to be a "genuine Christian"? How do you know your faith is real? What might cause you to stumble and walk-away? It's these and other questions Higher Ground, the directorial debut of Vera Farmiga, raises.
Higher Ground tells the story of Corinne (played by Vera Farmiga), a woman who as a young girl makes a profession of faith at a church summer camp. The rest of the film depicts her struggle with God and her questioning of this faith.
Corinne joins a church of self-professing "Jesus Freaks", a tight-knit group of charismatic believers who are shown spending most of their time studying the bible, singing, praying and enjoying God's creation. The church reminded me of the community life described in the Keith Green biography No Compromise: an attractive picture of believers sharing their lives together, through good times and in difficulty.
And yet it's the difficult times, along with other temptations, which weigh upon Corrine and really challenge her faith. They're not insignificant challenges.
I found myself nodding along in agreement that the threats to her faith are entirely realistic and, sadly, common. And so for that reason it was an unsettling film to watch - you could see yourself in her wrestling, and see others too, who have walked away because of similar trials and tests.
And yet it's not a bad thing from time to time to be unsettled like this, as long as the outcome is a renewed desire to persevere in your faith and encourage others also. To wrestle with the need for perseverance is a healthy thing to do. But at the end of the day, and the comfort for me as I reflected upon the film, was that those in Christ can never be snatched from the Father's hand (John 10:29).