Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

1More Film Blog

Home
Religious Music & Entertainment
Child of God (Franco, 2013)

Child of God (Franco, 2013)

Last updated on: April 6, 2015 at 6:46 pm by Courtney Schultz

Child of God (Franco, 2013) 2015-04-06T18:46:52-05:00 Courtney Schultz

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

An outsider, of “carnival folk” in a rustic, small town in the backwoods of Tennessee, Lester Ballard lives alone, fighting for his survival. In Child of God, Scott Haze depicts the tragic adult life of Ballard, a deranged and complicated character originally from Cormac McCarthy’s novel.

At the age of nine, his father commits suicide and his mother runs away. The movie begins with the town auctioning off his land without his permission, essentially arbitrarily seizing it. Ballard is chronically alone throughout his life. It’s reasonable to understand that Ballard isn’t going to manifest “normal” behaviors. In fact, he demonstrates schizophrenic tendencies, yet he is also wildly articulate and extremely crafty. He performs countless acts of survival—he even catches a pigeon with his bare hands. Les Stroud couldn’t think on his feet as swiftly as Ballard.

And yet society, particularly the sheriff (played by Tim Blake Nelson), continue to hold power over him. Sheriff Fate treats Ballard like an animal, a being that is less than society. He beats him up and demeans him like child. Following Fate’s example, all of the townspeople treat Ballard like an inferior being, a creature without the same inherent rights as a human. Throughout the movie, Lester Ballard continuously makes attempts to demonstrate his human status, even if he has to commit murder and perform acts of necrophilia to do it. Ballard’s circumstances have deprived him of a basic human need: love. And he is willing to do anything, regardless of the law, to find affection from someone—or something—to assert that he is more than an animal.

Man or animal?

Lester Ballard is much like Mary Shelley’s creature in Frankenstein. Both are misunderstood and animalistic. Because they are not like the perfect image of a human that society expects, each is cast aside and pushed away. When Lester interacts with a battered woman in the woods, he has a hard time comprehending the woman’s torn appearance and demeanor and becomes frustrated. The woman is quick to judge and believes Lester will attack her. Ballard, like Shelley’s creature, is often misunderstood. Each desires human contact and connection. Who can blame these characters for just wanting to receive affection from someone?

Despite the fact that Lester commits heinous crimes, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him and identify with him. He finds couples in parked cars and uses his rifle to collect “friends.” It’s sad how he cannot live beside the living and so finds comfort in the deceased.

Can we blame a person who is consistently isolated from society for wanting to take actions to find love? Lester Ballard wants to give love too and we see that in the way he treats the corpse of a deceased girl he brings home to his wooded cabin. He buys her new clothes and prepares for a “date.”

As the director walks his audience through Ballard’s struggles in his day-to-day life, the movie’s conclusion leaves us feeling as though Ballard is a benevolent murderer not a mass murderer. I don’t see a person who is malicious and a calculating; I see a misunderstood man who is a product of his circumstances.

“We are all humans. People who read the novel have to take on a human connection,” actor Scott Haze said during a discussion at the Virginia Film Festival.

Haze took impressive measures to prepare for the role. He traveled to West Virginia where Child of God was filmed to live in three months of isolation. Haze recounts how in his time of seclusion he would end up talking to himself and how he “made friends” with inanimate objects. Haze even went as far as to live in a cave, a place Lester goes to gather friends. Haze also credited James Franco as a director who understands him: “If James [Franco] wasn’t directing, then any other director [would] just think I was crazy.”

A passionate performance by Scott Haze

Haze embraced the role of Lester as a chance to tell a story. I appreciated his passion to commit to telling the story behind the outsider. Ballard’s story reminds me of looking in on the story behind a bullied high-schooler, one who ultimately snaps and shoots up the school as a comeback to his foes. In fact, I kept waiting for Ballard to just walk into the middle of the town and enact a massacre to the likes of the shooting at Virginia Tech or Columbine,

But Haze did not see his role as simply the role of a serial killer. He portrayed a deeply disturbed man who truly yearned for acceptance and appreciation.It’s pleasant to see an actor who utilizes method-acting to produce such a riveting performance. I believed in Lester’s character; my heart went out to him. Haze aggressively commits to the role. He pushes boundaries. In multiple scenes, he has snot running down his nose.

But Haze did not answer (in his performance or Q&A) an imperative question: does Lester Ballard realize his actions are wrong or immoral? Can we assume that his mental illness clouds his judgment and conduct? A court of law pardons the mentally disabled, so should we pardon Lester Ballard for his actions?

Perhaps this question remains unanswered because Child of God is ultimately not a movie about mental illness. Instead it is a movie that demonstrates the consequences of society pushing a person aside.

—

From Matthews N.C., Courtney Schultz is a Campbell University senior, studying journalism and political science. She is the editor in chief of The Campbell Times, the student newspaper at Campbell.

Reviews

Virginia Film Festival 2013

Previous Post

November 17, 2013

Church Hoppers

Next Post

November 21, 2013 It's Better to Jump (Angelone, 2013)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 10 Years Later 1999 Top 5 2007 Top 10 2008 Favorite Discoveries 2008 Top 10 2009 Favorite Discoveries 2009 Top 10 2010 Favorite Discoveries 2010 Top 10 2011 Top 10 2012 Top Ten 2013 Top Ten 2014 Top Ten Best Picture Winners Christian Spotlight on Entertainment Christianity Today Coming Soon Disclosure Disclosure--AS Disclosure--Book Disclosure--DVDS Disclosure--SEOL Disclosure--Travel Dissenting Opinion Elsewhere Emergenetics Essays Featured Film Fest DC--2014 Film Festivals Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2010 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2011 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2012 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2013 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2014 Headline Interviews Laura on the Oscar Winners Podcasts Quick Impressions Reviews RiverRun Film Festival 2014 Television The Criterion Collection The Thin Place To Stream or Not to Stream? Top 10s and Other Lists Toronto International Film Festival 2009 Toronto International Film Festival 2010 Toronto International Film Festival 2011 Toronto International Film Festival 2012 Toronto International Film Festival 2013 Toronto International Film Festival 2014 Uncategorized Video Virginia Film Festival 2011 Virginia Film Festival 2013 Women's Film Festival 2012

Select a Month February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What is the distinctive cup used in receiving communion in many traditions?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Jug Bowl Plate Chalice