Apostasy is a 2018 drama about a faithful Jehovah’s Witness who is forced to shun her own sister because of a religious transgression.
A test of faith is the cornerstone of a whole genre of films, pitting religious values up against urgent realities, pressing those in the story to commit or stray. From The Mission to Agnes of God to Doubt and many more, the best of these films are rarely cynical dissections of religious fallibility but rather observations of both the practice and consequences of action under the name of conviction. Daniel Kokotajlo‘s feature length debut, Apostasy is one such film, a subtle, moody yet often surprisingly brutal tale of life inside the devout of Jehovah’s Witnesses, making it a troubling dichotomy of disconcerting stillness layered over the fearsome and binding word of the faith it explores.
Centered on a family of women, Ivanna (Siobhan Finneran) is a middle-aged mother of two daughters, Luisa (Sacha Parkinson) studying at the local university, and Alex (Molly Wright), who has just turned eighteen. They are Jehovah’s Witnesses, Ivanna strictly so, living in north-west England under the guidance of the teachings of her god, worried about the influences of the world on her daughters. Turns out, that’s a worthy concern as Luisa announces that she has become pregnant with a boy who is not a member. Ivanna urges her to marry and bring the father into the fold, but doesn’t and as such, is removed from the Hall, disfellowshipped. However, Alex has her own burden, and it too will have her searching for what’s right.
Kokotajlo, himself a former Witness, smartly avoids many of the now standardized conventions of the religious film, stripping away the fire and brimstone narrative with fiery pulpit speeches for a much more subdued approach, conversationally-driven and internally explosive. Alex is at the heart of it, at an age where she comes to have more questions, strapped with a medical condition that, at a newborn already saw the hospital commit a sin against her, and one that she still is in need of but can’t allow. As Ivanna strives to keep Alex away from the influences of her older sister, she not so subtly pushes Steven (Robert Emms), a young man and brother in the Hall, into her corner. It’s a forged relationship, one Alex understands but struggles to make work.
Ivanna’s husband and the girl’s father is entirely absent in the film, his name, whereabouts, and even existence never mentioned, obviously a silent reminder of what it means to be abandoned by this faith. This leaves the story to the women, and rightly so, making this particularly compelling, each driven to separation by a singular force, one that Kokotajlo deftly manages to never wholly criticize but firmly keep in an oddly uncomfortable light. This is perhaps most potently expressed in an moment midway through the film where three very young children re-enact King Solomon’s judgement at a house party where adults watch with knowing smiles, a sort of indoctrination feeling about it that hammers a powerful message. That it precedes a critical moment in the same room involving Alex makes it all the more impactful.
Apostasy is a small film, confined mostly to Ivanna’s home and the inside of a Kingdom Hall. Finneran is a marvel, refusing to push Ivanna to the more dramatic trappings the role might seem equipped. It’s easy to say the performance – and the film in tow – is restrained, but more importantly, Finneran commits to Ivanna with a rare emotional nuance that carries this film from start to end. This is a test of faith, but it’s so much more and Finneran is simply breathtaking.
For many, religion in film serves as a barrier, and a movie about Jehovah’s Witnesses certainly comes weighted with all kinds of repellent for those just looking to enjoy a few hours at the movies. While Apostasy is armed to the teeth in its criticisms of the religion, it never paints in caricature, grounding its story in disconcerting authenticity. This is a remarkably intelligent work that will shock and dismay its audience, challenging in ways uncommon in movies.