Stop the Pounding Heart

Somehow well below par, I struggled to keep awake. Maybe I should be more interested in others' morals and religion.

This docu-drama traces a slice of the life of Sara, teenaged daughter of goat farming, homeschooling, Evangelical Christians. Minervini's camera has something of the handheld, observational style of the Dardenne brothers. And Minervini grants great respect to the non-actor subjects of his film, even as he is able to show the best and worst of their ideals. That fundamental empathy brings a humanizing sentiment to a divisive issue.