I stumbled upon this movie by chance on the Sundance Channel and was sorely disappointed. The premise of this story is to present the moral conflict of pursuing the desires of one's heart at the cost of losing/walking away from everything a person has always known. The actors in my opinion don't fail here it's more so the script and the fact that the complexity of this story is completely undermined by missing elements that are integral to a story like this. The story is centered around the Christian faith of Jehovah's witnesses but never is the bible actually opened in this movie and utilized as a reference point for the beliefs that witnesses uphold, which is universally known as how they defend their faith & all their actions. As others have said I don't feel like witnesses were demonized but at the same time they are characterized as zealots of some sort who live by arcane ideas and principles. In real life the issue with Sara pursuing a relationship like the one portrayed in the film would be that of engaging in a relationship with a person who doesn't share/cherish the same biblical/moral values of a professed Christian. (this basic conflict becomes evident when Sara boyfriend tries to be sexual before they are married – If I'm driving to NYC and you're driving to LA, why would I ride in a car with you, we are going in two different directions, it therefore would be of no benefit to ride with you, the same is true with choosing life partners who are going in different directions it makes no sense) An honest way to have told this story would have been to allow the bible principles that Sara was taught to be scripturally explained; only then could one possibly grasp the difficulty of grappling with what your heart selfishly wants versus holding onto everything you know to be true. The absence of a logical explanation of the practicality of bible principles over simplifies this movie down to a thing of I don't want do what other people tell me to do anymore thing versus I know what is right, I have a relationship with God and feel truly torn/confused. The movie is a complete failure and a disservice to the notion of sentimental dramas and the faith of Jehovah's Witnesses. Witnesses aren't mindless sheep. If questioned every thing they believe can be explained scripturally, and as far as their outlook of the future they can explain that too contextually and prophetically. Maybe it's easier for people to just write them off as mindless losers – I don't know. At the end of the day whether one agrees with the bible message they bring that's a matter of choice. Sara/Tabita must really be bitter that she allowed the story to be developed in such a one sided manner that cushions sympathy in the direction of her choice.
Review of Worlds Apart
