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Film & TV

Child of God – Dark Southern Gothic Film

Child of God - Dark Southern Gothic

Directed by filmmaker James Franco, and based on the chilling novel by Cormac McCarthy, Child of God is a dark Southern Gothic Film that tells the provocative story of Lester Ballad (Scott Haze), a dispossessed, violent man, attempting to exist outside the social order. Consecutively deprived of parents and housing and driven by famished loneliness, Ballard descends literally and figuratively to the level of a cave dweller as he falls

Child of God - Dark Southern Gothic

deeper into crime and degradation. Set in a small town in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Tennessee in the 1960s, Child of God is structured in three segments with each segment describing Ballad’s ever-growing isolation of from society and social mores. Child of God also stars Jim Parrack (True Blood), Tim Blake Nelson and features an appearance by James Franco. Co-Written by Franco and Vince Joliette, Child of God is produced by Caroline Aragon, Vince Jolivette, and Miles Levy.

Child of God - Dark Southern GothicSet in mountainous Sevier CountyTennessee, in the 1950s, Child of God tells the story of Ballard, a dispossessed, violent man whom the narrator describes as “a child of God much like yourself perhaps.” Ballard’s life is a disastrous attempt to exist outside the social order. Successively deprived of parents and homes, and with few other ties, Ballard descends literally and figuratively to the level of a cave dweller, as he falls deeper into madness, crime and degradation.

The film sticks very closely to the book, with only 2 scenes expanded from the original text. The use of long takes and natural action makes everything on-screen seem more realistic. All of the camera work is hand-held, which can be disorienting at times but it adds to the aesthetic of the film.