**** (Four stars)
Best known for getting doors closed in their faces, Jehovah’s Witnesses are in the spotlight of this complex Danish drama directed by Niels Arden Oplev. Based on true events, the story centers on a family of Witnesses who must decide—under difficult circumstances—if their love of God is greater than their love for one another, as their faith teaches them. Bringing about this Edenic fall, or so it seems, is 17-year-old Sara, who is blissfully devout until her hormones lead her into the arms of a nonbeliever (as we learn through a series of falling-in-love-in-the-rain scenes). But Sara, we soon discover, isn't the only one questioning her faith and her family. During this emotional tug-of-war, Worlds Apart starts to resemble a sort of religious version of Survivor, where a single misstep—adultery, premarital sex, challenging the views of the “elders”—can get you booted off Jehovah’s island. (Is anyone from CBS reading this?)—Erin Wylie, Seek editor
[This is a TONY staff review, written for the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival. It is not considered an official review and should not be read as such. Please think of it as a casual impression from a movie-loving friend.]