Our personal faith is a beautiful thing — no matter where that may lie for each of us. It sings in the babbling brooks, dances in the rustling leaves, and, for Jen Starling who is played brilliantly by Eliza Scanlen, is intertwined with a deep, reckless love… Or so she believes. In this same case, and in the case of countless others, innocent faith can be malformed by those who wield power over it, and the Christian Church is no exception to that warning.
In The Starling Girl, Jen takes center stage as she symbolizes the lost lamb, yet there is no physical manifestation of a good Shepard to save her. Instead, the fundamentalist Christian community attempts to mold Jen into their image, resulting in her becoming enamored with the one individual seemingly brave enough to buck any semblance of tradition. Yet, it’s through that cornering that her faith is molded — to where ultimately, in the end, her faith in God becomes something not defined by the whims of others, but by the strength she also finds in herself. Jen claims that independence in her own coming-of-age tale that she was so desperate to find. The Starling Girl offers a visceral meditation on finding our own faith as well as offering a warning that comes with that imbalance of power as we all, just like Jen, go on that journey for ourselves. — Manning Franks (2023)
Arts & Faith Lists:
2023 Arts & Faith Ecumenical Jury — #10