C.O.G., 2013.
Directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez.
Starring Troian Bellisario, Jonathan Groff, Corey Stoll, Dale Dickey, Denis O’Hare and Dean Stockwell.
SYNOPSIS:
A young man chooses to spend a summer ‘roughing it’ on an Oregon apple farm, and in the process learns more than he ever thought possible.
According to director Kyle Patrick Alvarez, the decision to make this film was many years in developing. He read this particular essay by David Sedaris when he was about fifteen, and he said the story always stayed with him, until he finally approached Sedaris about making an adaption. Alvarez was insistent that his intention was to make a film completely independent of the essay or Sedaris’ life, rather than attempt a more rigid biographical piece.
All I knew before this film about David Sedaris was his name, so the contents of the film were really quite eye-opening for me. I don’t know how much of this episode of his personal life has been shared with the world before now, but this film is full of extremely powerful themes: sexuality, religion and personal identity to say the least.
Samuel (Jonathan Groff) by turns is cared for and then cast aside by many different people as their needs change, which gave the film a wandering, nomadic feel. It is on his travels that he encounters Curly (Corey Stoll), a potential love interest at the apple factory, and Jon (Denis O’Hare), a Christian convert with a drinking problem. His relationships with these two men are the main impetus for the film, with each man appropriating him for needs of their own.
The one glimmer of stability and contentment in this film is the mother of the Christian family who Samuel and John stay with, Martha (Casey Wilson). She treats both men with kindness and compassion, born from a genuine commitment to loving her neighbour. Martha stands as the only character who is truly happy, and Samuel’s bond with her has something of a mother-son relationship, despite their similar age. Her wealth of responsibilities and maturity fascinates and overwhelms this will-o’-the-wisp, and she serves as a window through to the life that Samuel might have if he settled down within the Christian community.
I think the film’s dedication to its themes makes it a really strong and coherent piece, and while it is by no means an easy watch, there is something satisfying in being drawn into the huge discussion on the validity and relevance of the Christian faith, especially concerning its fraught relationship with homosexuality.
This film was so powerful that I gave myself a few days to mull it over before committing to a review, and it’s a testament to the strong script that I still feel incredibly emotional about it. This film depicts some of the worst crimes that humans can commit to one another, whilst being threaded with a thwarted, struggling hope. Samuel is consistently discarded and crushed, but he continues, because he must. I feel that this sense of perseverance is the principal message of the film; that a person who is committed to persevering no matter the odds has an aspirational kind of strength. I look forward to the coming weeks, where I may finally be able to decide whether or not I enjoyed it!
Flickering Myth Rating – Film ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie ★ ★
Samantha Morrison
