390:, Dan Callahan praised Alvarez's direction and the casting of Groff. He wrote, "There is a perilous difference between imagining people talking and interacting on the pages of a Sedaris story and actually seeing them do so without his masterful control of his effects. Alvarez solves that problem by taking the material and making it his own, making it more conflicted and making it much more serious. People going to
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also gave a positive review, commenting "This is a film that both respects and questions faith, something rarely done without judgment", and observing that the "scenery so beautiful you can practically feel the moisture on the leaves". He concluded, "The tone of this delicate drama zeroes in on a
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graduate, decides to "go off the grid" to work at an apple farm in Oregon, hoping to gain some life experience outside of his privileged upbringing. In his new surroundings, he adopts the alias Samuel. Out of his element and failing to fit in amongst the town's migrant workers and deeply religious
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expecting a re-creation of one of
Sedaris's reliably uproarious readings of his own material will be disappointed. People who approach it as a film in its own right, with its own rhythms and goals and pleasures, will be amply rewarded."
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true sense of life experience without heroes or villains, only people with different limits to how far they're willing to go for someone else". Conversely, Jeannette
Catsoulis of
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locals, David begins a journey that will take him deep into unfamiliar, awkward, and sometimes humorous territory as he encounters would-be benefactors and friends alike.
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as Curly, the friendly forklift operator at the apple factory. Curly takes a flirtatious interest in David (Samuel) that turns darker as the film progresses.
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379:. has an approval rating of 69% based on reviews from 36 critics, with a rating average of 6.5 out of 10. The site's critical consensus reads, "
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and it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize in the festival's U.S. Dramatic
Competition. It went on to screen at the
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as Jon, a deeply religious, recovering alcoholic who takes David (Samuel) under his wing making Oregon-shaped clocks
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struggles to find a consistent tone, its episodic structure veering from farcical to poignant to dangerously raw."
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s plot is a bit meandering, but the characters are always compelling and the ending is richly rewarding."
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gave a more mixed review, writing, "Despite smatterings of wit and a stable of skilled performers,
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as Debbie, David's (Samuel's) foul-mouthed assembly line co-worker in the apple factory.
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as a young man when he traveled to Oregon and took on the occupation of an apple picker.
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as Hobbs, an old farm owner who hires David (Samuel) and gets him a job in the factory.
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as David (who tells some people his name is Samuel). The character is loosely based on
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as
Jennifer, David's (Samuel's) friend who unexpectedly bails on him early on.
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The film was released on VOD and in theaters on
September 20, 2013.
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466:"'C.O.G.' Named Best New American Cinema at Seattle Film Festival"
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on
January 20, 2013, where its distribution rights were bought by
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228:. The film, whose title stands for Child of God, is based on a
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603:"'C.O.G.' review: Smart, funny soul food"
493:"Sundance Hit 'C.O.G.' to Open Outfest"
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834:Films directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez
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829:Films based on American short stories
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573:Callahan, Dan (September 20, 2013).
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354:Seattle International Film Festival
889:English-language independent films
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601:Pais, Matt (September 19, 2013).
859:LGBT-related comedy-drama films
854:LGBT-related black comedy films
760:The Stanford Prison Experiment
636:"An Ivy Leaguer Among Rustics"
464:Kilday, Gregg (June 8, 2013).
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869:2010s English-language films
168:September 20, 2013
819:American LGBT-related films
814:American comedy-drama films
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864:Films critical of religion
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879:2013 LGBT-related films
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809:2013 independent films
471:The Hollywood Reporter
346:Sundance Film Festival
358:Outfest Film Festival
874:2010s American films
844:Films shot in Oregon
740:Easier with Practice
727:Kyle Patrick Alvarez
615:on November 14, 2023
264:Forest Grove, Oregon
222:Kyle Patrick Alvarez
176: (United States)
80:Kyle Patrick Alvarez
51:Kyle Patrick Alvarez
42:Kyle Patrick Alvarez
725:Films directed by
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408:The New York Times
360:on July 10, 2013.
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18:2013 American film
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321:Dale Dickey
256:Corey Stoll
139:Focus World
113:Corey Stoll
84:Betsy Stahl
73:Produced by
38:Directed by
794:2013 films
788:Categories
449:August 27,
419:References
189:88 minutes
172:2013-09-20
157:2013-01-20
120:Production
48:Written by
367:Reception
309:Christian
575:"C.O.G."
545:"C.O.G."
521:"C.O.G."
202:Language
163:Sundance
89:Starring
56:Based on
381:C.O.G.'
340:Release
205:English
194:Country
170: (
155: (
122:company
773:(2023)
770:Crater
763:(2015)
753:(2013)
750:C.O.G.
743:(2009)
685:C.O.G.
674:C.O.G.
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392:C.O.G.
260:C.O.G.
254:, and
213:C.O.G.
161: (
61:C.O.G.
24:C.O.G.
377:C.O.G
235:Naked
679:IMDb
647:2023
621:2023
585:2023
557:2022
531:2023
507:2023
479:2023
451:2013
283:Cast
276:Yale
270:Plot
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