All Along The Watchtower - Daniel Kokotajlo’s Apostasy

“There must be some kind of way outta here
Said the joker to the thief
There's too much confusion
I can't get no relief”

apostasy (əˈpɒstəsi) = "the abandonment or renunciation of a religious or political belief or principle."

Writer-director Daniel Kokotajlo draws on his personal experiences of life inside (and outside) the Jehovah’s Witnesses for his even-handed, extremely assured and deeply compassionate debut feature Apostasy.

“I’m sorry, Jehovah.” On the eve of her eighteenth birthday, the first words we hear come from Alex (Molly Wright)’s inner monologue – an apology for politely indulging her doctor’s vain plea for her to seriously consider ongoing medical treatment for her life-threatening anaemia. It won’t be the last time blood is rejected in Apostasy…

Alex’s blood kin are her older sister Luisa (Sacha Parkinson) and mother Ivanna (Siobhan Finneran). Set in Kokotajlo’s native Oldham, Apostasy follows the three women as they wrestle with the tensions and fundamental dichotomy that exist between their daily life and relationships, and “The Truth” as espoused by the Witnesses.

Aided by cinematographer Adam Scarth’s detached, visually austere images, Kokotajlo’s film is a sensitive, nuanced and restrained portrayal of what it means to unquestioningly pledge fealty to the beliefs of the Jehovah’s Witnesses as they await the arrival of “The New System” (the creation of God’s Kingdom on Earth following Armageddon).

Significantly, the faith’s Elders are all men – interpreting and applying the scripture, providing “divine guidance”, and thus exerting pressure (and maybe a little bit of fear?) - affecting the decisions and travails faced by the three women as the story progresses. The inert stillness of the Witnesses “Kingdom Hall” is at odds with the world that rushes past on the busy dual carriageway in the background. It’s a resolutely patriarchal belief system and there’s the conspicuous absence of a father / husband in the home of our three protagonists – he’s mentioned long enough for us to notice that he’s not there, and no-one wants to talk about why…

All three lead actresses are uniformly superb – in particular Siobhan Finneran as Ivanna, giving a subtle, quietly conflicted, expressive and controlled performance. With the tiniest physical gestures, we see the cognitive dissonance and uncertainty crackle across her face and flash in her eyes.

At times unsettling and occasionally harrowing (there’s some archive video footage on “How to Cope with Grief” that I found chilling), yet moving and fair, Apostasy provides an exceptionally rare insight into the power and persuasive groupthink of the faith over its adherents. Crucially, this is not an exposé, a hatchet job or a tell-all. Kokotajlo is far more sympathetic, open-minded and open-hearted than that. Unsurprisingly, the closing credits contain the disclaimer “Not endorsed by the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses”.

Apostasy is in cinemas and on demand in the UK from Friday 27th July 2018.