Review of Nathan Scoggins’ Call for Vengeance

Nathan Scoggins’ drama What Remains was released, in which actress Anne Heche played one of her last roles before her tragic death in August 2022. This is a small but memorable part in the film, which, according to Julia Shagelman, budget constraints and directorial uncertainty make it difficult to fully express everything that the authors want to say on the difficult topics of forgiveness and atonement for sins.

The rural American South, with its small towns surrounded by sun-scorched wastelands and churches that for the locals become the living and beating heart of their community, is a fertile cinematic ground for stories of revenge, blood and death. Any deed is visible here, memory lives for a long time, family ties are heavy and pull to the ground, and faith in God, whose presence in people’s lives is interpreted by priests as something almost physically tangible, is both salvation and a curse.

For Baptist pastor Marshall (Cress Williams), his ministry is the most important thing in his life, so much so that in an effort to help save the souls of his parishioners, he forgets about his own family. Paradoxically, the worst thing he manages to reach is his own son Samuel (Marcus Gladney Jr.), who dreams of going to college and running away from his hometown, and most importantly, from his father, communication with whom for him comes down to stubborn silent confrontation sometimes turning into verbal skirmishes. The reason for this is somewhat more significant than the usual teenage obstinacy: five years ago, the pastor’s wife was killed, and he, in accordance with the spirit and letter of his faith, firmly decided to forgive the murderer, a white scum of society named Troy (Kellan Lutz), and Samuel did not can neither understand nor share this decision.

The situation escalates when Troy, after serving five years, is released on parole (it is rather difficult to believe in such a lenient sentence, but director and screenwriter Nathan Scoggins makes it clear that this has something to do with Marshall’s refusal to testify against him in court). He returns to his hometown, where absolutely no one is happy to see him, and even goes to the church – once again ask for forgiveness from the pastor, and at the same time inquire about work. At first, he gives him a turn from the gate, but then, when Troy is denied the only place recommended by his parole officer, he hires him to perform various ancillary work. Whether he really has forgiven him, or is trying to convince himself of this, or revels in his suffering in a somewhat masochistic and not at all Christian way, he does not seem to know himself. But such a turn completely confuses Samuel, who is filled with anger at his father, hatred for the criminal and a thirst for revenge at the same time, and it remains to be seen which of these feelings is stronger.

As father and son deal with their moral dilemmas, the sheriff (Anne Heche) and a deputy find a charred car with a body inside in an abandoned vacant lot. At first it seems that these events are happening simultaneously, then it becomes clear that the film has a non-linear structure, the narrative either goes forward or looks back, and all events are shown either in flashbacks or in flashforwards. Scoggins probably needed this technique to somewhat cheer up the slow and viscous rhythm of the picture, but it cannot be said that he achieves this goal. Every time the energetic and direct Sheriff Maureen appears on the screen, the picture comes to life, but, unfortunately, she gets too little attention until the final act.

In general, the whole film boils down to the question that was raised at the very beginning: can an ordinary mortal person with his usual human emotions actually forgive his enemies? Even a die-hard pastor admits that it is daily hard work that has to be started over and over again. In one thing, the authors and characters unequivocally agree: revenge does not bring consolation, it only opens the door to new pain. But it seems that none of them is completely sure of the saving potential of turning the other cheek either.