Mark Reviews Movies: THEM THAT FOLLOW

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Review by Mark Dujsik | August 8, 2019

Somewhere in the mountains of Appalachia, the members of a community of Pentecostal Christians show their faith by handling venomous snakes. That's the basic backdrop of writers/directors Britt Poulton and Dan Madison Savage's Them That Follow, which mostly keeps matters of religion and community in the background. Its examination of the effects of religious fervor and an insulated community is seen through the lens of a young woman, who finds herself conflicted about what role her faith should play in the rest of her life.

That story is told well enough, even though its foundation is squarely in the realm of melodrama, as Mara (Alice Englert) is torn between her love for one guy and her perceived responsibility to marry another. There are complications, of course, because matters of the heart rarely are as easy as a binary choice.

In a way, it's almost commendable that Poulton and Savage have chosen such a simple, familiar, and straightforward foundation for this tale about a controversial religious practice and a mostly ignored—except for when it comes to reports on deaths from the practice of handling deadly serpents—community. In doing so, we don't have to concern ourselves too much with matters of story and conflict, because a love triangle, as lopsided in one direction as it may be in terms of actual romance, is about as basic as a plot can be.

In theory, that's not the point, because here is a collection of people, living lives and engaging in practices that seem foreign and unnecessarily dangerous. It's happening, though, in the real world—in the backyard of this country, where people know no other way of life and probably wouldn't have the means to live any other way, even if they wanted to do so.

The movie itself, though, seems only mildly interested in the specifics of these faith practices and the nature of this community. They exist, primarily, as a means of bolstering that main plot, giving it some deeper significance and some additional conflicts—as well an undeniable edge of danger. We have little reason to concern ourselves with the story of Mara being torn between two guys. It's unfortunate that the filmmakers have decided to hitch everything to that story—especially when there's so much potential firmly established in the background.

The central complication is that Mara is pregnant by Augie (Thomas Mann), whom Mara seems to love and who essentially has distanced himself from the community. The other guy in the romantic triangle is Garret (Lewis Pullman), who is devoted to his faith and is admired by Mara's father. By the way, Lemuel (Walton Goggins), the father, is also the pastor of this church.

Of note is the way that Poulton and Savage do not mock or outright condemn the actual faith of these characters. They certainly don't condone it, either, but that should be obvious, given the way that Mara's dilemma could also be seen as a choice between abandoning or maintaining her faith. The people who are devoted to their faith here, including Augie's parents Hope (Olivia Colman) and Zeke (Jim Gaffigan), are wholly and unquestionably devoted to it in a way that seems genuine.

Goggins' performance as the pastor is particularly insightful and significant in this regard. He's fiery in his sermons, calling upon the Holy Spirit and proclaiming that one's faith will protect a person while holding a venomous snake, but Lemuel also displays some vulnerability in conversations with Mara. As the police come closer to finding a reason to shut down the church, he's more afraid of losing this community, this way of life, and this ability to display his faith than he is angry at the world. That anger is there, but it's part of the fascinating dichotomy of this character. He's a man who happily takes in Mara's friend Dilly (Kaitlyn Dever), whose mother has left her living alone in a camper in the woods, to live with the family. There's a condition to this arrangement, though: Dilly has to reject her mother, even if she returns, as if she is no longer part of Dilly's life.

All of these conflicts and contradictions are here, just within reach. Instead, the filmmakers grasp Mara's story. She has to keep her pregnancy a secret. She has to distance herself from Augie, lest anyone figure out what has happened between them. The secret is put at risk when Mara starts vomiting in the morning and particularly after Hope (performing a humiliating gynecological inspection that's routine in this community) learns half of the truth. Augie decides to make his dedication to Mara more apparent, in a scene that—like all of the ones featuring the practice of snake-handling—is at once mystical and terrifying, and Garret starts to suspect something, which reveals his true colors, as encouraged by the pastor.

Them That Follow touches upon the sincere and sincerely uncomfortable aspects of the faith and community driving this story. In the end, though, the most fascinating element of this tale—the nature of this brand of religion and the people who practice it—is little more than a superficial plot device.

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