Near the end of Them That Follow, I realized I hadn’t taken a deep breath for about an hour and a half. And then all I could do was sigh.
The film, by first-time writer/directors Britt Poulton and Dan Madison Savage, is set in an all-white, impoverished, evangelical Appalachian community whose members’ lives are rooted in their church and in the practice of snake handling as a test of — and a testament to — their faith.
It’s set during the deadest, drabbest part of autumn, with winter licking frostily at the edges of an unnamed mountain town, and at an undetermined time where nothing feels cozy, warm or safe.
The protagonist, Mara (Alice Englert, Beautiful Creatures), is the pastor’s daughter and a true believer. Englert’s portrayal is excellent and sincere — crucial since much of the movie centers on Mara’s face as she struggles with wanting a life that neither her stern, fiery father Lemuel (Walton Goggins, The Hateful Eight), nor her community, nor even she herself, would approve of.
Mara’s transgression is revealed in the first few minutes, not long after she calls a writhing nest of venomous snakes “so beautiful.” She prays and prays to be cleansed, for, as her father explains, “Satan seduced Eve so that he could pollute all mankind.”
The movie is well-cast, with Academy Award-winner Olivia Colman (The Favourite) as a converted zealot named Hope, whom the community calls “Sister Slaughter,” and solid turns by comedian Jim Gaffigan (“The Jim Gaffigan Show”) as her husband Zeke and Thomas Mann (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) as Augie, their disbelieving son and Mara’s true love.
There’s so much to work with here — religion, rattlers, rage, secrets and sin — but the payoff is just “meh.” For about 90 minutes, Them That Follow led me to believe I would get more than what it eventually gave me. But, like Mara, I may have had too much faith.
Starts Aug. 9 at Grail Moviehouse
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