Child of God

Star Star | Scout Tafoya | Thriller/Drama | 1h 44m
In 1960s Tennessee, a violent loner (Scott Haze) loses his last vestige of humanity as he enters a downward spiral of madness, crime and degradation.

Initial release: April 28, 2014 (United Kingdom)

Director: James Franco

Story by: Cormac McCarthy

Adapted from: Child of God

Initial DVD release: October 28, 2014 (USA)
Cast:
James Franco (Jerry)

Jerry

Scott Haze (Lester Ballard)

Lester Ballard

Jim Parrack (Deputy Cotton)

Deputy Cotton

Tim Blake Nelson (Sheriff Fate)

 Sheriff Fate

You've got to admire James Franco's chutzpah. After directing a few vacant things that barely count as movies, he just started going around buying the rights to classics like he was William Wyler or John Huston. After "As I Lay Dying," last year’s fascinating, if perhaps undercooked Faulkner adaptation, Franco has returned with a stab at Cormac McCarthy’s early novel "Child of God." People who were worried when Franco snapped up the option to "Blood Meridian," McCarthy’s ‘unfilmable’ masterpiece, won’t have their fears allayed any by a good faith but blank retelling of McCarthy’s first major statement. Franco clearly wants to be a provocative artist with the chops to bring major literature to life, but he has no relationship with the camera. Every cut has the same effect as the curtain raising on the next act of a play: here’s some more action, for better or worse. It’s like "Dogville" with the sets filled in; watchably eccentric but rudderless.