Saved (or Thank you, Sweet Baby Lord Jesus, for this cinematic take on your flock)
Maybe it was my experiences on the bus the other day or maybe it was the fact that James has been wandering around the house thanking (SBL) Jesus for, well, just about everything, but last night I was finally moved to watch Saved. And, praise the Lord, I was pleasantly surprised.Sure, it is a teen comedy set in an uber-christian community but there is something refreshingly unpreachy about it. Saved effectively stradles the chasm between earnest naivity and scathing viciousness; the result is a film that feels true, that can be loved by bible bashers and heathens alike.
There is something compelling in all the characters. Mandy Moore is pitch perfect as the bitch with a heart that swells for the Lord and Jena Malone (from Donnie Darko) makes a likeable lead. Even Martin Donovan takes some time out of making Hal Hartley films to pop his head up as the "cool" headmaster of the evangelical school.
The biggest achievement of Saved is the care it takes to criticise religious fervour without belittling it. The way that these characters struggle to reconcile their faith with "goodness" in the inevitable messiness of diversity is both heart warming and wrenching.
All this in a teen highschool comedy.
Recommended.
Tags: movie review
posted by walypala @ 8:37 pm
8 Comments:
So that's what you were watching! You should've watched it downstairs, it's a fun movie. No more panpipe music for you!
(Shall we all make your blog full of house in-jokes?)
I hope you have seen it before pronouncing its meh-ness!
You know I have always been a sucker for a teen flick. One that has girls sleeping with their boyfriends to save them from being gay because Jesus told them to was always going to be a hit!
I would have watched it upstairs James but I didn't want to tear you away from another episode of Married With Children!
"Go away Peg."
Woo! Yeah! *applause*
Oh my god, there is no article in Wikipedia for "No Ma'am". That's my weekend mission -- write that article!
i really need to see this...i did want to when it was fresh and never got around to it...
your post reminded me and encouraged me to do so.
--RC of strangeculture.blogspot.com
Yes Mike, I've seen it - had to interview the director for MCV so had to see it - found it under-developed, and half-baked: unsure if it wanted to be fluffy or savage, and consequently failing to be either. But hey, that's just me...
Well Margaret, I liked the fluffy savageness of it. I thought it managed to be both and was all the richer for it but I know where you are coming from, it was always going to be a divisive choice.
OMG, guess what I am going to see on Wednesday... Volver, Almodovar's new film. I'm so excited (and I just can't hide it!)
Oh, and RC, don't listen to Richard. He is big and grumpy. You'll love the film. It is as good as Crossroads and A Walk To Remember combined.
Actually it is as good as Crossroads and A Walk To Remember combined with something good like Bring It On! or that scene with the mangy dog in Orange County (the rest of that film was crap but that scene was fucking priceless).
Ah, teen comedies, where would I be without them?
Certainly not here talking to myself!
What's on television... Oh, good, Married With Children.
AaaalllllLLLLL!
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