C.O.G.

Focus World

There are three reasons you would want to watch this film: 1. the main character is played by the very talented Jonathan Groff of Broadway and “Glee” fame. 2. You love the prose of David Sedaris, and seeing as how this film is based off of one of his essays, you are swooning in happiness that this film exists. 3. You love both, like I do.

 The story follows David as he leaves graduate school and the throes of an argument with his mother, and goes to Oregon where he wants to "work among the people." He starts off as an apple picker, then a factory worker, where he meets various characters. First he befriends a fork lift operator who is attracted to him, played by Corey Stoll, who is recognizable from "House of Cards" and "This is Where I Leave You.” David changes his name to Samuel, and finds himself immersed in the C.O.G. or "Children of God," which lends to the rest of the film's narrative. The plot wobbles about as David moves from a pretentious sod, looking to enchant himself in the lives of blue collar workers and migrant workers, and into a wrecked, hopeless convert to religion. Groff gives a great performance as Sedaris, blending together the complexities of this setting, while playing off of other characters' insecurities and peccadilloes.

 The ending feels a bit haphazard, because we're not exactly sure what will become of Sedaris, or whether he really has learned anything in his travels. He seems to have a metamorphic transformation, but then again he trusts the wrong people time and again and his strides are challenged by the complexities of the human spirit. This is a strong independent film, and one that features original characters, but not knowing exactly how the main character changed in the en,d made my love for it bittersweet.