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SFFILM Festival

Child of God

Directed by James Franco

USA | 104

28 Apr
Mon, Apr 28, 2014 at 3:45 pm PT

Description

A seething, snarling beast of a Cormac McCarthy adaptation, Child of God is the story of Lester Ballard (Scott Haze), a backwoods-dwelling resident of Sevier County, Tennessee, in the 1960s. Filthy and ostracized from society, Ballard roams the edge of town, occasionally getting in trouble with the bemused local sheriff (Tim Blake Nelson), who truly does not know what to make of the pariah. That routine changes when Ballard stumbles upon a pair of dead lovers and decides to take the woman back to his squalid abode and introduce her to his “friends.” Complemented by a muted color palette and sparse guitar and banjo score, Child of God is the rare adaptation that understands and serves the narrative austerity of its origins. Haze’s hypnotic central performance as Ballard is a triumph of raw emotive ferocity and kinetic primitivism. Polymath wunderkind James Franco (who, besides directing the feature, co-wrote the script with Vince Jolivette) ably handles the outrageous content of McCarthy’s story, transforming it into a film that is, by turns, bleakly funny and deeply harrowing. –Mike Keegan

Director James Franco

In his 36 years on the planet Earth, Palo Alto native James Franco has acted in, among other things, a beloved cult TV show, a stoner comedy, a soap opera, a superhero series and an Altman movie. He’s hosted the Academy Awards and worn cornrows for Harmony Korine. Child of God is his latest feature film as a director. His next, Bukowski, comes out later this year. He is currently a PhD candidate at Yale University.

Trailer

//player.vimeo.com/video/91000654?autoplay=1

Film Details

Language English

Year 2013

Runtime 104

Country USA

Director James Franco

Producer Caroline Aragon, Vince Jolivette, Miles Levy

Writer James Franco, Vince Jolivette

Editor Curtiss Clayton

Cinematographer Christina Voros

Music Aaron Embry

Cast Scott Haze, Tim Blake Nelson, Jim Parrack, James Franco