This movie had very little box office
exposure and after watching it I can see why. That isn't to say that
the movie is bad, but it has such disparate elements that I can
understand the trouble with marketing it to an audience.
The story is based on the real life
endeavors of Sam Childers. Here is played by the woefully
under-recognized Gerard Butler. Childers gets out of prison and
returns to his trailer park home with his wife Lynn, played by the
terrific Michelle Moynahan. Tensions rises as he finds out that she
quit her job stripping because she found the Lord. Sam continues his
rage-fueled criminal vices: assault, drugs, robbery. But then
something happens to cause him to reach rock bottom and turn to his
wife and the Lord for help. After his conversion, he struggles to
get his life together and after he does he decides to take a mission
trip to Uganda and Southern Sudan, where he becomes involved with the
plight of the people and builds and orphanage and defends it with
soldiers.
One of the nice surprises of the film
is that it is not preachy. This is ironic since Sam becomes a
preacher at his own church. But director Marc Foster does not let
Sam's conversion feel like a prodigal son sermon. Butler deserves a
lot of credit for his portrayal here. His criminal Sam is a violent
beast. When he first sits in church, he looks like a dog that's been
told to heel. But Butler slowly shows how Sam changes his life and
fights his demons.
But the other nice surprise from the
movie is that it shows that those demons don't magically disappear.
Sam takes several trips back and forth from Sudan. He witnesses such
unspeakable horrors that wear down his soul. The saddest part is
that he lets his righteous anger tap into his violent nature. He
fights for his orphans with his AK-47's. And at first we cheer for
him. When he comes back home and asks for money to keep these kids
alive, he rails against the excess we Americans live with. At first
we are on his side and share his anger. But that rage is turned
against even the smallest of indulgences his family has. We begin to
see that violent man from before begin scratching his way to the
surface. Who will win? The man holding the Bible or the gun? This
film could have easily been simply about a righteous warrior for the
Lord. Instead it meditates on how violence can sometimes be
necessary, but that it can still corrupt. Gerard Butler performance
believably takes us to each of his highs and lows and is quite
haunting.
The biggest problem with the story is
the problem that most biopics have. There is a sense that there are
several important moments from the real person's life that want to be
covered, but they feel jammed together without a strong sense of flow
and narrative cohesion. It feels like we go from episode to episode
of Sam's life. Also, because the film depicts the ongoing bloodshed
in the Sudan, the movie really doesn't have a conclusion. It just
kind of stops, with only some character resolution. This may make it
more historically accurate, but it makes for a less engaging movie.
As I wrote at the beginning, this is a
difficult movie to market. It would seem to tap into the
Christian-based “Fireproof/Passion of the Christ” audience, but
it is way too dark for that. The violence, while not gratuitous is
harrowing and haunting. With so little resources, Sam must make life
and death choices regarding children. We witness the unspeakable
horrors of the child soldiers and their captors. And while there is
no nudity, there is a graphic sex scene in the first few minutes and
some necessary shots of Moynahan in her underwear. But because this
movie takes a very positive view of the faith, portraying Christians
as normal and sometimes noble, it doesn't seem to have a place with
mainstream cinema either.
And that is a shame, because even
though the movie is flawed, Butler's performance is fantastic and
well worth the time to watch. The movie will hopefully also move you
to become more engaged with the plight of our brothers and sisters in
Uganda and Sudan.
3.5 out of 5 Stars
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