Higher Ground Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Higher Ground Blu-ray Movie Review

Sony elevates another Blu-ray title above the competition.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 28, 2011

Jesus knocks on our heart, but we don’t listen.

When an exploration of personal faith is the centerpiece of a film, oftentimes the end result is a character, or characters, who come to embrace their faith, who make it a permanent part of their lives, who grow within it rather than drift apart from it. These films espouse the positives of faith, the personal and interpersonal transformations that may come from it, the growth of the mind, body, and soul through the acceptance of and living by Godly principles. Such is not the case in Higher Ground, a different sort of Religiously-based picture to be sure, the story of a life that eschews religion, then embraces it, and ultimately finds that a Godly life and fellowship with other likeminded Christians may not be for it. Actress Vera Farmiga's directorial debut is a strong one; her film is steady and captivating as it slowly weaves a narrative of a life defined by its personal immersion into and the outside influence of faith, and all of the positives and negatives that follow. Higher Ground plays with a gentle, unassuming current; it's the true definition of a "story," one crafted through the accumulation of experiences and ideas that gradually shape a character and transform a narrative's very essence by film's end.

Talk to me, Lord.

A young Corinne Walker (Taissa Farmiga) raises her hand to accept Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior while at Vacation Bible School, but she sees the gesture as just that: a gesture. As Corinne matures, she attracts a Rock musician named Ethan (Boyd Holbrook). Their relationship blossoms, and when Corinne finds herself pregnant, she and Ethan wed. Later, Corinne and Ethan are in a terrible accident that almost costs the life of their young child. They're convinced that it was an act of God that saved the infant, and they begin a spiritual journey that sees them embrace the teachings of the Bible and become involved in a local church. As the years pass, Corrine (Vera Farmiga) and Ethan (Joshua Leonard) grow into their spiritual lives, but Corinne begins to find faults with the church's ways and the Bible's teachings. She struggles to separate her personal viewpoints, desires, and ways from that of the church. As she drifts away from the church, her marriage begins to suffer. Will Corrine maintain the status quo for the sake of her family, or will she go against her faith and venture out again on her own beliefs and understandings of the world around her?

One of the factors that makes Higher Ground such an effective Drama is its uncanny ability to paint its picture in such a way that it never really takes its final shape until the last stroke at film's end. Certainly Vera Farmiga's picture offers subtle undertones in its pointed yet still reserved critiques of her church -- notably its male-dominated pulpit -- but the film never telegraphs where it is going, even if it constantly hints at why it's going there. That makes the movie doubly effective, and its structure that shows Corinne's life as a free-flowing, ever-evolving journey rather than a series of events that transpire only to move the plot forward provide the movie with the proper foundation that will give the most credence and believability to the events as they gradually and naturally unfold and contribute to the larger narrative.

The film pits human nature against religious doctrine, which is the essence of Corrine's dilemma as its manifests in her attempts to suppress her desires to break away from her church's teachings and principles, whether in the clothes she wears or the sexual fantasies that appear in her mind. She struggles with her faith the more she finds that her innate physical nature seems to often go against the teachings of the church -- even when her soul wants only to maintain her faith -- and as she watches as events around her betray her idea of what faith is and what it should do for those who have it. When her family life shows signs of cracking, when her friend is forever changed, when she fails to see God's plan or hear God's voice, she begins to drift away from her faith, which in turn seems to only worsen her plights rather than alleviate them. Even as the film, then, shows its character searching for herself both within the body of the church and through her own understanding of herself and the world separate from the church's teachings, it doesn't completely dismiss the idea of the power of faith as something good for some people, the film, then, not playing so much as an anti-religious picture but rather a pro-individual picture.

Technically, Higher Ground is an accomplished, absorbing picture. It's very deliberately paced as it traverses the path that sees Corrine's acceptance and embracing of religion slowly reach its zenith and begin its slow descent back downward towards the level where it began. The movie feels very even as it follows its one path along this unique "spiritual curve" of sorts, and the progress is so steady that one never truly feels the ascent, the descent, or the peak; the story's flow and progression are as natural as they may be in a time-condensed picture. The film's ability to maintain a thematic balance at every point allows the audience to more fully absorb the story's overriding themes and its nuances alike. The main cast is excellent, too; Vera Farmiga's performance is as even as the movie, her journey the centerpiece and the performance setting the tone for the remainder of the film. The transition between actresses, eras, and beliefs are completely seamless, too. The film does struggle to identify and develop the host of ancillary characters who appear in the film. Each one in some way helps to shape the end product that is Corrine's journey, but the film works quite well even if they are little more than a face and a trait at any given point in the story.

Higher Ground Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Higher Ground's 1080p Blu-ray transfer handles the picture's native digital elements nicely. It never "feels" digital, meaning the glossiness, flatness, and general lifelessness of the average digital movie isn't apparent here. It offers a nice, natural texture, which yields very strong details across the board -- in faces, clothes, building façades, the wooden pews in the church -- and features stable but vibrant colors. The palette is plenty impressive; it's balanced and bright, handling natural outdoor hues, warm interiors, flesh tones, clothes, and the like with ease. Black levels are strong, never crushing scenes and never going a bright shade of dark gray. The image is relatively free of noise and blockiness, but slight banding does creep into the image from time to time. This transfer is typically Sony; it exists on a higher ground, so to speak, compared to the average new release. Another job very well done.

Higher Ground Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Higher Ground's DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack is effective, even if it doesn't have much to work with. This is a dialogue-heavy Drama, and the absence of action is reflected in the track. It's reserved in nature but very clear and precise nevertheless. The accordion heard at the beginning of the movie sounds very impressive, delivering crisp notes that seamless recreate the instrument's unique sounds. The tiny Renegades concert, also heard relatively early in the movie, carries well around the stage, doing a fair job of immersing the listener into the small crowd and playing with pinpoint accuracy and clarity which allows each instrument to be heard cleanly throughout the scene. A solid low end also accompanies the tune. The track manages a nice, natural, immersive ambient sensation throughout, delivering tiny supportive elements with natural ease. Dialogue is smooth and focused in the center with a nice little sense of extra space heard during sermons and speeches delivered through microphones. This is a reserved but effective track that handles its limited material with the utmost in clarity.

Higher Ground Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Higher Ground doesn't lowball on extras; Sony has included a nice array of extra features for this Blu-ray release.

• Audio Commentary: Actor/Director Vera Farmiga, Actor Joshua Leonard, and Producer Renn Hawkey deliver a steady, engaging commentary. Farmiga dominates the early part, with the others chiming later on. Themes, anecdotes from the set, technical aspects of the shoot, and much more make up the bulk of a balanced, informative track.
• The Substance of Things Hoped For: Making Higher Ground (1080p, 18:52): Cast and crew discuss the picture's history, the plot and themes, Farmiga's work as both an actress and director, the work of the cast, technical elements of the production, and more.
• Production Diary (1080p, 2:36): A raw glimpse into the making of a scene.
• Outtakes (1080p, 0:44): Toe Sucking and Meeting of the Men.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 6:54): I Was Just Pretending, Renegades Rehearsal, The Blessed Hope of Rapture, Hot Dog, Lord Don't Be Messing with Me, and Dissection Day.
• Extended & Alternate Scenes (1080p, 5:31): Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam and Spaghetti Fantasy.
• Higher Ground Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 2:05).
• Previews: Additional Sony titles.
• BD-Live.

Higher Ground Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Higher Ground is a high quality production, but it's not for everyone. Those who like their religiously-themed films to follow in the footsteps of films like Courageous and Soul Surfer will be highly disappointed with this film's themes and resolution. Still, there's no denying that it's a quality story of an uncertain life, told with grace and ease and with the appropriate technical merits to match. Sony's Blu-ray release of Higher Ground features strong 1080p video, a balanced lossless soundtrack, and a fair array of extra content. Recommended.