Far Cry 5 | A Case For Adaptation
I have never been a big fan of remakes and adaptations. It’s not that I don’t like them at all, it’s simply that I haven’t come across one that has blown my mind. Although I hold this opinion, I still appreciate the concept. If there is a unique story that should be told on the big screen, I am all for it. I welcome a full hearted attempt to bring a complex and compelling story to life. In order to accomplish this, you will need the right screenwriter, the right director and, most importantly, the right cast. With this in mind, I believe a compelling and complex story that is ripe for a film adaptation would be the 2018 Ubisoft video game Far Cry 5. Of all of the Far Cry games, I believe 5 not only has the best story but is also the most realistic that would make for a fantastic, yet grounded film due to its setting and overall plot. For those unfamiliar with the plot of Far Cry 5, I will give a quick story synopsis.
Spoiler Warning: I will be including some game spoilers so if you prefer not to be spoiled, I would skip ahead in this article.
Far Cry 5 takes place in the fictional location of Hope County, Montana. Once a small, sleepy area, the county has since been overrun by an extremist doomsday cult called Project at Eden’s Gate. Initially, no one gave a second thought about the cult. Most of the Hope County citizens just saw them as a few crazies who subscribed to a weird religion with weird beliefs. It wasn’t until the cult started kidnapping citizens of the county against their will, in order to indoctrinate them into their doomsday religion, and began to stockpile weapons that the law got involved. As the player, you take on the role of a rookie in the Hope County sheriff’s department tasked with serving an arrest warrant for the notorious cult leader Joseph Seed. You, the sheriff, two fellow deputies, and a federal Marshal all travel to Joseph’s church to arrest him. After being met with a number of his extremely devout followers, the sheriff suggests to the Marshal that they go in without their weapons drawn and try to be as peaceful as possible. The Marshal agrees and they enter the church where they are met with Joseph’s armed followers and the rest of his family.
The Seeds are the main leaders of the Project at Eden’s gate and consist of Joseph (The Father) who proclaims himself the messiah that will lead all who believe in him to salvation after “The Fall”. His brother John helps their followers cleanse themselves of their sins so they could be ready to follow and walk beside Joseph. How does he do this you ask? John makes cult recruits literally wear their sins by carving them into their flesh, tortures them until they confess, and peels off the part of their skin with the carving on it with a giant knife. The other brother Jacob is the warrior. He trains the stronger cult members to be fearless and merciless soldiers by running them through drug induced training courses and holding them in cages. The last of the seeds is Faith. Although not related to the brothers by blood, Joseph brought her into the family when he found her at her lowest, most vulnerable moment. She had no family, home, and strung out on drugs when Joseph found. Faith is the angel of the family; she creates other “angels” by giving followers a drug called bliss that makes them not only suffer surreal hallucinations but also makes them easily controllable. She is a manipulator that can make all those under her care do anything she wants them to do. With all four at the helm, it makes sense that the Seeds would be able to build their cult so quickly.
As you, the player, attempts to arrest Joseph he simply allows the handcuffs to be placed on him. Although a tense situation, Joseph is not worried at all. He simply replies “God will not let you take me”. It turns out that Joseph is right. As you and your comrades walk Joseph to the helicopter and attempt to fly away, his armed followers storm the chopper and cause it to crash. Luckily no one is hurt but Joseph has his followers kidnap everyone in the helicopter. The dispatcher who was supposed to call in the national guard if anything went belly up turns out to be aligned with the cult; as you slowly come to after the crash, Joseph coldly and slowly tells you “I told you God wouldn’t let you take me”. Cult members are supposed to take you to one of the Seed family regions for “training”, but you escape and nearly perish. Luckily, a local war vet and prepper named Dutch finds you and brings you back to his bunker. He initially thought about turning you back over to the cult, but sees an opportunity for you to help him liberate his island within the county. You then spend the rest of the game trying to take down the cult by liberating each region the Seeds have taken over, freeing kidnapped citizens, and working with resistors to take back their county all the while trying to escape the wrath of the Seeds. Far Cry 5 has to be one of the best games I’ve ever played! Personally, I prefer games with a good story and Far Cry 5 has this and so much more. It’s more than a standard FPS; this game has compelling characters and an amazing yet realistic story as well as a moral quandary that makes you question where the line is between doing good for others or doing good for yourself. Of course, I have zero sympathy for the cult. However, the way Joseph expresses his beliefs about the state of the world and questions if he is really the crazy one in all this allows me to understand how he was able to recruit so many people. Joseph’s message is that the world was coming to an end and the only way they could be saved is to follow him into the garden of Eden, hence the cult’s name Project at Eden’s gate. Joseph throws out hot button topics like politics, war, and climate change to make his point and, in these very uncertain times, I could see why people willingly choose to follow him. The Father prays on fear and with the economy in a shaky state, talk of impending war, disease, and a very doomed looking future, Joseph ends up sounding down right prophetic.
For those who haven’t played the game I bet you may be asking, why is Joseph and his cult getting away with this? Why not bring the police in? The answer lies in a very unique, and pretty accurate part of the game’s plot. First, the cult was able to buy off and essentially recruit the local police. Second, the federal government couldn’t get involved for a long while because there was no real information of what Joseph and his family were doing. There was no proof that the Seeds broke any federal laws until a video of one of Joseph’s sermons, which featured a church full of followers adorned with guns and him committing murder, was leaked online. A federal marshall was sent in to assist the local government to arrest Joseph for kidnapping and illegal possession of multiple weapons…but, obviously, the arrest did not go as planned. Once things hit the fan, there is no way for the player or the local law to reach out to the outside world as Joseph had his followers cut off all communication outside county lines. This is not only a very smart way to play the game out but also very realistic. I mean yes, the people the Marshall reports to may have caught on to him never reporting in, but the feds couldn’t just storm Hope County looking for him. It’s all about politics and the bureaucracy of law, which really sets the stage for the sequence of events that follow.
Given its incredible story and relevant aspects of the plot, I believe this game is ripe for a film adaptation. As for the cast, the following are my choices for each role.
Joseph Seed — Matthew McConaughey or Bradley Cooper. I believe both men have the charming charisma and the quiet insanity it takes to play this role. I think McConaughy not only looks a bit more like Joseph but his natural swagger and persuasive acting makes him the prime candidate for the cult leader.
Jacob Seed — Including his role as Mad Sweeney in American Gods as well as his role as Master Chief in the Halo series, Schrieber not only has the physical prowess to play this role but also a believable “warrior” mentality. Jacob Seed is a former soldier who carries a lot of anti government sentiments. He believes in a very naturalistic way of life; only the strong survive. Pablo would be a perfect fit for this role not only due to his chameleon style of acting but also his fierce intensity. I think back to his turn as a sociopathic rapist on a few episodes of Law & Order SVU and I can imagine him bringing that same intensity and vigor to this rather complex role.
John Seed — John Seed is supposed to be charismatic, like Joseph, and very handsome. He is a good looking, persuasive man with a dark and twisted mind who believes pain and suffering is the only way to achieve salvation. Zac checks all the boxes for this character. Citing his role as Ted Bundy in the 2019 film Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, Zac could absolutely pull off handsome, seemingly well adjusted man who has a not so secret dark side.
Faith Seed — Although I’ve only seen her in the CW show Riverdale, Lili Reinhart’s role as Betty embodies many qualities that Faith Seed possesses. Faith is extremely manipulative, fierce and has zero empathy. Faith puts on a fake exterior of “faith” and forgiveness but is secretly hollow underneath. Lili’s role as Betty basically acts this same way as she too puts on a fake exterior to hide her bad girl side. Faith is also not a real member of the Seed family; she was taken in by Joseph and it is heavily implied that he groomed/manipulated her into being one of the cult’s first members. Given this, it wouldn’t be too far off putting to cast someone that doesn’t really look like the other members of the family.
Sheriff Whitehorse — What is there to say about this casting other than “perfection”! Harbour has the same gruff yet humorous personality that Sheriff Whitehorse has in the game. Add the fact that he already has experience playing a small town sheriff forced to navigate strange events that happen around him, I couldn’t think of a better choice than David Harbour for this role.
Dutch — A former military survivalist that flies in the face of the cult by working around them with his extreme prepper prowess? Who better to play this role than Jonathan Banks? He’s tough, gruff and plays an incredible older man who just doesn’t give a damn. Banks has a very stoic way about him that makes him perfect for this role.
Nick Rye — Full disclosure, I have not seen much with Taylor Kitsch. I’ve maybe only seen a handful of films he’s been in, including his role in season two of True Detective. Fortunately for this casting, what I’ve seen so far is all I needed to in order to find him perfect for this role. Kitsch has a natural, easy going demeanor that makes him a shoe-in for the Fall’s End resident. A Hope County native, soon to be father, and owner of Rye & Son’s aviation, Nick is a small town country boy who only wants the best for his pregnant wife and child. He’s a simple guy with simple needs and I think Taylor would be perfect for this role. His ability to fit into the gruff, country boy persona and the simple sincerity he displays make him my choice for Nick Rye.
Mary May — There’s not a lot to say about this character in the game. She is the owner of a local bar in the town of Fall’s End who has a few missions for you to help liberate the town. She’s lived in Fall’s End her whole life and hates the Seeds with every fiber of her being. She was one of the first people to try and raise the red flag on the cult, but no one believed her. Mary May’s a thick skinned, hard working country girl who is ready and willing to take up arms to fight against the cult. With this in mind, I couldn’t think of anyone better to play her than Betty Gilpin. Citing her role in the 2020 film The Hunt, I think Betty Gilpin would be able to crush this role as well as make it her own. A tough country girl who makes molotov cocktails and provides a safe haven for the citizens of Fall’s End fighting against a cult, who better to cast in this role?
Pastor Jerome Jeffries — And last but not least we have Pastor Jerome Jeffries, the resident bad-ass pastor of Fall’s End. Jerome is a broken man of faith. He is a true believer but is haunted by his inability to stop the cult from growing as large as they did. He carries the burden of not being able to save his people, for not being able to tell the people of Hope County what they wanted to hear and show them that Joseph is no messiah. Although a man of faith, Jerome decided to take up arms as he believes it is his Christian duty. Citing his roles as Ron Stallworth in the 2018 Spike Lee film BlacKkKlansman and as “Protagonist” in the 2020 Christopher Nolan film Tenant, I believe John David would be an excellent casting choice. Clearly bolstering the acting chops of his Hollywood legacy father, Denzel Washington, and possessing some incredible acting skills of his own, John David has more than enough range to take on this burdened and broken character. John David’s natural charisma and ability to go from calm to full on action hero not only makes him perfect for Pastor Jerome…but Pastor Jerome incarnate. I can totally see John David Washington dawning a bullet proof vest, 9mm gun, and a bible fighting alongside the other residents of Fall’s End…kicking ass and “saving souls”.
Far Cry 5 is an incredible game that, in the right hands, could be adapted into an incredible film. There are so many themes and concepts that can be explored here and I would love to see them come to life on the big screen or at the very least a mini series on Amazon Prime or Max.
