In The Ground Beneath Our Feet, Emma Bryant (Elliana McKean) is a teenager who feels lost. Her school has drab lighting and is full of teachers who don’t seem to care and bullies who terrorize the hallways. When she gets cast in the school musical, it turns out that it’s a sacrilegious dirge written by a drama teacher who obviously has issues of her own. (“Thank God I don’t need God!” a typical song goes.) Her grandparents aren’t going to be happy about that! For that matter, they also probably wouldn’t approve of her crush on simple-minded football star Aiden (Cooper Southfield).
Hidden away in the corners of her grandparents’ home is a diary that was written by Emma’s great-aunt Evelyn. Reading it, she learns about how, in the 1950s, Evelyn (Mirabelle Bishaw) watched as her sister Mary (Ruby Eisenberg) fell under the influence of a no-good boyfriend named Roy (Eric Johnson) and a Math teacher who rarely taught about Math and instead would spend the entire class talking about his atheism.
The film flashes back and forth, from the 50s to 2024. There’s even a brief stopover in the 70s. That’s actually an intriguing premise and the film does make an effort to show how history repeats itself. The alienation that Mary felt in the 50s is much like the alienation that Emma feels in 2024. Unfortunately, the film itself really doesn’t have the budget to convincingly recreate the 50s, beyond featuring a few vintage cars. Indeed, the film’s version of the 50s feels almost like a parody. All of the dialogue has the sound of a writer trying to duplicate the rhythms of an era that they don’t know much about beyond what they’ve seen on television or in other movies. And while Mirabelle Bishaw, Ruby Eisenberg, and Eric Johnson all do a good job in the 50s scenes, the actors playing their friends and acquaintances deliver their lines almost robotically. It’s a bit disconcerting to listen to some of them.
The main theme running through this film is that people are very easily led. That’s not necessarily a bad theme. The truth of the matter is the most people are easily manipulated, especially by authority figures like teachers. (Myself, I tend to assume that everyone is wrong except for me. And while that may be preferable to being easily influences, it still comes with its own set of difficulties.) In the modern scenes, Emma listens as a friend of her grandmother’s explains that her granddaughter has fallen away from the church because she read a set of “fantasy book” that led to her becoming an occultist. That’s something that often seems to happen in faith-based films but I have to say that I don’t buy it. Don’t blame the books just because your granddaughter apparently can’t think for herself. People are responsible for their own decisions, regardless of how easily led they may be.
This film was definitely better-made than the average faith-based film. The movie actually looked like a real movie. Elliana McKean was sympathetic and likable as Emma. The story was a bit difficult to follow. The nonlinear style of storytelling has become very popular nowadays but it really does require a fine eye for detail to truly make it work. I doubt it will convert anyone but at least the film felt like a professional production.
