Higher Ground

Hidden in the faith-questioning Higher Ground is a filmmaker on the rise. She just so happens to be Oscar-nominated actress Vera Farmiga, who has not taken an easy way out with her first film as a director. Unfortunately, movies that are so centrally religious in nature are tricky, and hidden in Higher Ground is a lack of clarity about what faith really means to Corinne (Farmiga), who in her 30s begins questioning the life she devoted to her church and her husband. Farmiga certainly connects to Corrine as an actress and to her characters as a filmmaker. That confidence lets lesser-known actors like Joshua Leonard and Dagmara Dominczyk break out of their shells and shoulder some of the burden while the star worries about making her directing debut.