YouTube
Following her Oscar win earlier this year, Olivia Colman swaps out regal rants for religious preaching in Britt Poulton and Dan Madison Savage’s debut Them That Follow.
Set in the Appalachian Mountains, Them That Follow follows the members of an intimate Pentecostal community where religion takes precedence over all else. When Mara (Alice Englert) ends up pregnant just before her arranged marriage to Garrett (Lewis Pullman), it sets off a horrible chain of events when the real father of the baby, faithless Auggie (Thomas Mann), gets bitten by a venomous snake. Hoping faith will save him, refusing to get him seen by a doctor, the whole community find themselves in uproar and anarchy as his faith is tested to the limit and Mara’s secret gets out – mostly upsetting her dad, the town preacher (Walton Goggins), and Auggie’s deeply religious mother (Colman).
It’s a very patriarchal piece; as a result, this may turn many viewers away and keep many feel quite disconnected from the characters. It’s a tough situation to empathise for. At the same time, the sheer nothingness of the first half is enough to deter most that find themselves inclined to. Sadly, Them That Follow is pretty dull. There’s not a lot that occurs until the finale and, by that point, it’s all a little ramshackle and rushed because the film tries to bite off more than it can chew. Yet, despite its pensive nature, the film acts as a showcase for its impeccable cast; everyone is terrific, from Englert’s anguished Mara to her reserved best friend played exceptionally on-point by Booksmart breakout Kaitlyn Dever. Colman, Goggins, Pullman, and Mann make up the rest of the cast and they’re all brilliant in their roles.
Despite the fact that not much happens, there is something so fascinating about seeing such a culture operate. It’s so far removed from modern society and our everyday lives that the film’s premise alone is enough to keep the audience intrigued – peering into this world as it slowly crumbles. The characters themselves are fine; the writing doesn’t do them much yet it’s not a disservice either. They’re okay. It’s hard to invest in too many of their stories because of everything going on – the film struggles to really develop its plethora of players within its concise runtime – but they suffice for what is required of them. Again, the cast are so good that you’re captivated by what they have to offer as performers. There’s a scrappy yet gorgeous, documentary-esque aesthetic to the film that works in grounding the authenticity – channeling it’s inner Jesus Camp – and the way Poulton and Madison direct is commendable – the camerawork and the way in which they position their characters at any given moment in the narrative allows for the most interesting of dynamics to occur. On a technical front, Them That Follow is pretty impressive. The narrative itself is paper thin and it’s easy to feel detached from the proceedings. But, for what it’s worth, it’s a fascinating conceit that is explored competently when it is – albeit not scratched beneath the surface enough with too many lulls and one too many characters to truly shine.
Them That Follow was reviewed at the 2019 EIFF.
