One thing I've noticed about Carrie that means a lot to me but worries me about the new adaptation (and frankly, bothers me about the last ones) is how in the book, Carrie does indeed have a relationship with Christianity and faith outside of her interactions with her mother. Part of her growing tension around ideas of the "divine" exist because of her mother but the story isn't "Carrie's mom is Christian and Carrie is not." The story isn't also "Carrie's mom is crazy because she's Christian and Christianity bad." It's more complex than that.
The book makes it super clear in multiple places that Carrie's mom is a wild exception to what Christians are like, that her beliefs are totally whack, and the verses she quotes repeatedly are completely taken out of context. Most people in Chamberlain think she's wild for her takes. The book also makes it clear that a lot of what she quotes isn't even from the Bible. That whole "Eve was weak" nonsense is NOWHERE in the Bible and it's the one she swears by.
But what's especially important is how Carrie herself is actually implied to be more familiar with actual biblical context than her own mother. Carrie's mom quotes verses because they sound good. They sound like they fit her situation (the one she perceives herself to be in because she might actually be clinically psychotic) and that make her sound "holy." And Carrie actually catches her on this when she calls out her mom for quoting Pontius Pilate in an attempt to sound "divine."
Carrie's relationship with faith and God is not just through what her mother says, although that sadly is the most of it. She experiences her own crisis of faith when she feels alone despite hearing that God loves her (something I too experienced as a bullied Christian). Her going into the church during the destruction of the town isn't just a trauma response from the prayer closet. It's her actually going to God for either forgiveness or to try and hear him one more time (I can't remember if this is before or after she kills her mother but I believe it's before). Most of the times (if not all) Carrie is sent to the prayer closet, she really hasn't done anything wrong. When she goes to church, an actual sanctuary of God, she is. Something in her subconsciously knows this is wrong. She's going to do it anyway but she knows God should hear about it. Not only because of her mother, but because of her own broken relationship with faith.
And this is another thing all the adaptations (and people) seem to miss: Carrie is bullied for being a Christian. I'm not just talking about her getting on her knees to pray in school, which is what starts the "ol' prayin Carrie" chant. I'm talking about what Chris says to Sue in the diner. Chris bullies Carrie because she knows what Carrie's mother is like - ie, a prominent Christian. She therefore immediately assigns Carrie that role and all but calls it justice for ruining her. She tells Sue that Carrie runs around telling everyone they're going to Hell but there is basically no record of this ever actually happening. Chris has a perception of Christians and applies it to Carrie, likely enhanced by when Carrie prays at school, leading her to dump the blood and...yeah. At the bottom of it, Chris blames Carrie for getting her kicked from prom. She really does think Carrie deserves all of that because she's a Christian and other imaginary perceptions she has of her (that she's stupid is another one).
This, as far as I know, is dropped in the adaptations. Carrie is bullied for every reason BUT this and I'm worried the next one will be the same. As a Christian who was bullied for being such, I seriously identify with this part of her. It's like the most clear reason given as to why they harass her and yet, everyone turns a blind eye to it. It's always "Carrie's mom is Christian, Carrie's just stuck there." The clear take too of the book, in my opinion, is that there is a difference between the Christian God and Carrie's mom's God. It's unclear if Carrie knows this (likely not, sadly) but she does know context better than her mother. But the 76 movie assumes the audience understands her mother is misquoting Scripture AND is using some nonsense written by other people. They don't. The Bryan Fuller version also has Carrie say what I think is some reddit atheist bs at her mom which is meant to be an "ooo got em" moment. That doesn't work either. Plus, it's just cringe (like other stuff Bryan Fuller does! ahem sorry).
In many versions, Carrie is good and not Christian, her mom is evil and Christian. But this isn't accurate to the book because Carrie isn't entirely innocent either, at least internally. She's vengeful and, in her mind at least, cruel. She screams obscenities at her mother too. Before the prom, she happily envisions killing her classmates. Her snap isn't out of nowhere. It comes from a tragic build-up of internal rage. I adore Sissy Spacek's Carrie but I wish the writing let her show more of that besides just the principal's office scene. This is not me condemning Carrie. I have been her. But it's something I don't see often in adaptations except for maybe the musical.
I hear Mike Flanagan is a great director and he seems like a cool guy. But I can't help but wish we had a woman (a Christian woman?? I volunteer???) direct this next adaptation. I want an adaptation that acknowledges Carrie herself is very flawed and that she is Christian and that's one of the reasons she's bullied, one that doesn't take the stance of "see, Christianity bad" and actually covers the nuances of Carrie's relationship with faith.
