Mendy

Film does show why so many young people raised in such communities find it so difficult to ever leave.

Vardy draws the moral conflicts in broad strokes, but as a portrait of a man torn between his faith and the urges of his liberated hormones, it has honest depth.

Ms. Dias gives the role an understated allure, and Mr. Sandomire is as good as his character's inconsistencies allow. Their performances and Mr. Vardy's ability to be reverent when he wants to be are the film's strengths.

Inspired by a 1997 "Voice" article on ex-members of the Satmar sect, Mendy is cast largely with Orthodox or former Orthodox actors, who are utterly credible with dialogue that necessarily teeters between the candid and the offensive.