Movie Review : Child of God (2013)
Nothing is sacred anymore in the age of social media. Almost every public figure and pop culture icon ended up putting their foot in their mouth and suffering the wrath of their own admirer for not living up to their idealized standards. Author Cormac McCarthy was always smart enough to only give his fans what he did best and nothing else, so he remains beloved today. Whenever his novels are rumored to be adapted on film though, you can hear the tremor of suspicion and discontent all the way through your router. McCarthy is an untouchable American storyteller. That's why not all that many people gave James Franco's spontaneous adaptation of his novel CHILD OF GOD the time of day. That and, you know, it's not a very good movie.
If you don't already know the story of CHILD OF GOD, don't worry. It's one of Cormac McCarthy more obscure novels and it's rather simple. Lester Ballard (Scott Haze) is a dispossessed man, living outside the rules of society. He's violent, feral and feared by the people of the neighboring town. As the story progresses, Lester becomes more and more isolated. He is first chased out of his home by the municipal authorities and into an abandoned cabin. Isolation also starts getting to him, as he turns to necrophilia after finding a dead couple in a car. He is slowly turning into a feral beast and eventually reaches the point of no return. That's it, that's at straightforward as it can get, really.
I don't have anything against the story of CHILD OF GOD or how it was originally delivered by Cormac McCarthy. It's a story that's meant to make you hate people and it does a tremendous job at that. The movie takes so many questionable decisions with it though, it ends up offering a sub par interpretation. Some of the issues are subtle, yet undermine the entire presentation. For example, CHILD OF GOD is shot with natural light, in an ill-advised attempt to heighten its overall bleakness. The story is bleak enough as it is, the movie would've required a little more nurturing in order to make its point better. Whatever were the aesthetic of narrative reasons behind that choice, it only makes the movie come off as uglier than it has to be.
Another issue with CHILD OF GOD is James Franco's bizarre, minimalist yet intrusive use of the soundtrack. He seems obsessed with that cliché banjo song that plays in every goddamn movie about the American South, and plays it at the most inappropriate times. I understand banjo is a part of Southern culture and that it's meant to be a non-manipulative use of the soundtrack, but it comes off as corny and hilariously stereotypical. CHILD OF GOD is really centered around the minimalist, restrained film direction of James Franco, but when you direct a minimalist and restrained story in a minimalist and restrained way, the point does not come across. It comes off as bland an self-effacing, and I'm not even getting in the sloppy scene direction and questionable support cast here.
I though Scott Haze did a good job as Lester Ballard, but not a great one. He does look the part. He looks exactly like the mental image I made of Lester (OK, maybe he's a little shorter), but his interpretation is rabid and spastic, which I didn't get at all from the novel. He looks like he's playing feral more than anything. If this adaptation of CHILD OF GOD had been a stage play, I would've called Haze's interpretation fantastic, but he kind of sticks out like a sore thumb in a movie that's trying to desperately hard to be tame and bleak. Not to mention that James Franco takes liberties with the original story, which reflects on the character in a way that upsells the spastic madman part. Scott Haze did the best he could with the project he was handed and to a certain extent, he's the only developed character and the best reason why you should watch the movie.
No, CHILD OF GOD is not a very good movie. It's a great story, if you have a stomach for nihilism, but it tastes like an overcooked steak in the hands of James Franco. It's not uncommon for novice directors to make such blatant, pompous mistakes so we should be forgiving and at least pay attention to Franco's gazillion upcoming projects, but I wouldn't even suggest watching this one for shits n' giggles. It's overly bleak, filled with questionable aesthetic choices, there are unnecessarily long and awkward scenes and the support cast can't help looking uninspired in most scenes (that police officer drove me fucking nuts). It's regrettable that James Franco used a novel from beloved figure such as Cormac McCarthy to turn such a raw and flawed movie. CHILD OF GOD ranges from average to unwatchable. Skip it.
