Under God

Author(s): Tony / ZgamerLocation: Pittsburgh / Eagle, ID

"Under God"
Directed by Ryan Fleck
Written by Patrick Marber
Edited by John Bloom
Music by Philip Glass
Loosely inspired by real events

Main Cast
John Terry as Father Jonah Pierce
Hilary Swank as Rosemary Webb
Andre Braugher as David Hatcher
Jeremy Davies as Alan Campbell
Robert Patrick as Ray Millar
Brad Dourif as Stan Ackett
Bradley Whitford as Michael Durban

Tagline: "We all feel a need to have the influence of religion in our lives, even if it’s not for the same reasons"

Synopsis: It’s a gloomy autumn night in the town of Sandpoint, Idaho. On a dusty back road, Michael Durban’s son and his friend were killed in a tragic automobile accident. Having lost his wife a year prior, Michael is now left alone. Sitting at home in his misery, he opens a newspaper to find a way distract his thoughts. This brings a new problem to his attention. On the front page, the main article describes a new issue that has arisen over a stone statue of the Ten Commandments at the park. By request of mayor Ray Millar, the statue is to be removed from a public viewing, as it is to be considered to be fair to “nonreligious folk”. This stirs uproar with the religious community, who feel it is a violation of their constitutional rights. With the debate emerging, Ray must now defend his views against the crowd, which may put the town’s allegiance towards him in dire jeopardy.Meanwhile, Father Jonah Pierce lies on his silk sheets and decorative pillow as he places his reading glasses aside to tune into the local news on the devastating car accident. All of his life Jonah has been devoted to his Christian belief, which started from his very demanding childhood. He runs the town church and has been involved in dozens of ongoing activities, but more importantly has been the influence for the fight of the teaching of creation in schools. Jonah watched the news as if it were his loophole to achievement. He knew Michael Durban and his son as two of the many residents who attend his church congregations. To help his own goals, he offers to help Michael Durban deals with his loss. Jonah imposes that Durban’s unfortunate situation could be accounted for by re-introducing school prayer as a safe precaution for the children of the city. While Jonah knows it is not right to manipulate others for his own desires, he feels there’s no other way to promote the Lord’s work.However, this only leads to more controversy, as the Commandment crowd now have a second problem to deal with. This drags the principal of Sandpoint High School, David Hatcher, into the scene. Already on the heels of the statue conflict, Hatcher must inform the school board about the news and make decisions to both parties that could be detrimental to his image. To try and sway his opinion, Jonah has brought in assistance in the form of Rosemary Webber, a right wing conservative lawyer. Rosemary, a well groomed professional with her tied up hair, black glasses and sharp southern accent, feels her biggest accomplishment was her leading of intercom-led prayers in her school when she was a student and now feels she must bring this practice to Sandpoint. Her main opposition is Stan Ackett, a pro-evolution supporter who does not want an idea of creationism interfering with his teachings on Darwin’s philosophy. Caught in the median is the science teacher of Sandpoint, Alan Campbell. Campbell, being a holy man himself, believes that personal politics should be left outside of public education, as he does not want to offend anyone or cause trouble with the board. However, Jonah and Rosemary take this the wrong way, calling him a hypocrite and urging their supporters to do the same.Day after day, the war intensifies and new consequences begin to manifest. Michael has begun to come in a clear state, accusing Jonah of abusing his life. Alan must fight back against the abundance of hate mail he is receiving, which has been hurting his home life. Hatcher’s career is possibly at stake, and Jonah’s pride is on the line, as he must keep his cult-following satisfied. In the end, only one faith will reign supreme.

What the Press would say:
Religion is so touchy a subject that if handled the wrong way, it can cause quite a mess. That’s exactly the point director Ryan Fleck and writer Patrick Marber make in their new film “Under God”, which is loosely inspired by a real event in Idaho. No matter your religious standing, “Under God” treats everyone equally and invites him or her to sit and ponder over the issue of religion in our society. Of course, it’s not simply a “religion’s bad” or “religion’s good” film. It is a careful study of how deeply rooted religion is in our society and how much people will try to either bring more of it in or push it out of the public view.Hot off the success of their previous films “Half Nelson” and “Notes on a Scandal”, Fleck and Marber, respectively, use their skills effectively to give the film the strength it needs to be a winner. Marber’s screenplay, simply put, is superb, as he plans out everything with a careful pace. Every event is connected in someway in the story, from the death of a character’s son to the controversy over prayer in school. However, Marber never makes it obvious how they will work together, leaving you guessing until the very end. This is complimented by his literate and intelligent dialogue, which never compromises to “dumbing down” a scene to soften a blow. While it will take patience to appreciate it, most will find it very satisfying. Fleck’s role in the process is just as important, as he treats the subject matter with the utmost respect. The way the scenes flow together, with aid from editor Bloom, help make the progression of the film natural and compelling. Fleck also establishes an interesting mood to the film, with an appropriate color palette to reflect both the season of the time and the subject of the story. His handling of the scenes is also very well done, which he gives just the right amount of depth and drama to them so they don’t over or under do any emotion. This is also thanks to the evocative and moving score from Philip Glass, which uses a hymn-like style to compliment the more powerful measures of dramatic flare in his violin.In the end, the amazing cast is what gives the film its power. John Terry, who some may remember as Matthew Fox’s father on TV’s “Lost”, gives a very deep performance as Father Jonah Pierce, who for all intents begins the conflict in Sandpoint, Idaho. Terry’s powerful voice, complimented by the very human quirks and emotions he gives his character, gives the audience someone to root for and despise. Even if you don’t agree with how he does his work, you have to give him credit for going about it in a realistic way. His equal is Hillary Swank as teammate Rosemary Webber. Swank has created her best character yet with this role, as Rosemary has a very distinct presentation and set of mannerisms that make her a deep character. This way, she saves the film from being a one-man show for Terry and helps create a sense of ensemble cooperation. Everyone else is very good in their roles as well, from Whitford’s grieving father to Patrick’s compelling though short performance as the mayor. However, Braugher stands out from the cast as the principal of the school. From his looks to his delivery, Braugher never makes it feel like he’s acting. He’s just a principal caught in a bad situation. That’s the brilliance of the performance.“Under God” is not seeking to be controversial. It’s trying to give a fair and balanced view on a touchy subject and it succeeds very well,

Awards Possibilities
Best Picture
Best Director (Ryan Fleck)
Best Actor (John Terry)
Best Actress (Hillary Swank)
Best Supporting Actor (Andre Braugher)
Best Original Screenplay (Patrick Marber)
Best Editing (John Bloom)
Best Original Score (Philip Glass)