First of all the positives :
The cast was great - every single person pulled off the role seamlessly and had to much "chemistry " between them . The set design was great , accents were great and the concept behind the movie as a whole was good and thought provoking - I was bought in start to finish and felt like it was paced well .
My complaint comes in with that I actually think the relationship being with a 28 year old youth pastor took away from the main message that was trying to be portrayed , it left me as the viewer confused about what I was supposed to be taking with me from this film .
I liked very much the idea of questioning of faith , a conservative community having a strong double standard and the hold communities like this have on individuals and families - this was all done and developed very well . The backstory of the dad , relationship between the parents and the idea of a courtship at 17 were great . Jems naivety as well was very well portrayed .I thought the scene where Owen asks here where in the world she would want to live and she states that she wants to stay in Kentucky underlined this part of her character . I understand that women / people in this situation are under educated and therefore are easily swayed by leadership but I think that should be a separate movie .
The movie took too much focus away from these amazing subtleties by adding a totally inappropriate relationship - I think if Owen had been a 17 year old kid she met at the arcade that actually would have helped keep the focus where it should have been and made it more powerful - so so many narratives happening at the same time I had a hard time focusing the way I wanted because I was so frustrated and disgusted by Owens relationship with a teenager and then his ending .
The end of the movie for Jem was brilliant and I think they killed that with the music and the bar and the becoming independent in some small way and leaving ends loose . It made me think , it drew me in and I appreciate what the filmmakers did here .
The cast was great - every single person pulled off the role seamlessly and had to much "chemistry " between them . The set design was great , accents were great and the concept behind the movie as a whole was good and thought provoking - I was bought in start to finish and felt like it was paced well .
My complaint comes in with that I actually think the relationship being with a 28 year old youth pastor took away from the main message that was trying to be portrayed , it left me as the viewer confused about what I was supposed to be taking with me from this film .
I liked very much the idea of questioning of faith , a conservative community having a strong double standard and the hold communities like this have on individuals and families - this was all done and developed very well . The backstory of the dad , relationship between the parents and the idea of a courtship at 17 were great . Jems naivety as well was very well portrayed .I thought the scene where Owen asks here where in the world she would want to live and she states that she wants to stay in Kentucky underlined this part of her character . I understand that women / people in this situation are under educated and therefore are easily swayed by leadership but I think that should be a separate movie .
The movie took too much focus away from these amazing subtleties by adding a totally inappropriate relationship - I think if Owen had been a 17 year old kid she met at the arcade that actually would have helped keep the focus where it should have been and made it more powerful - so so many narratives happening at the same time I had a hard time focusing the way I wanted because I was so frustrated and disgusted by Owens relationship with a teenager and then his ending .
The end of the movie for Jem was brilliant and I think they killed that with the music and the bar and the becoming independent in some small way and leaving ends loose . It made me think , it drew me in and I appreciate what the filmmakers did here .