James Moore (Corbin Bernsen), a minister who has walked away from his calling, returns to his roots in a small Canadian town. He arrives to find that his developmentally disabled childhood friend has been convicted of starting a house fire that killed a local family. Moore struggles with his faith as he works to uncover the truth behind the deaths (he doesn't believe his friend was the arsonist).
PhotobucketBernsen is the writer/director/producer and lead actor for this production. His performance is strong and he shows why he has enjoyed a stable career over the past few decades. His work as director is quite conventional and reveals an eye trained on television production more than film. This leads the movie to have a made-for-TV feel. While this isn’t necessarily a crime, it does cut into the production’s vibe, it feels small.
Where the film tends to suffer the most is in the writing. While Bernsen does manage to capture the simple dialog and thinking of a rural small town, he stumbles with his plotting. We never get to know the family who perishes in the fire. Moreover, we don’t have much emotional connection to Moore’s friend Travis (Lloyd Warner). This means that there isn’t a huge emotional payoff in the final moments. In addition, the film opens with Moore denouncing his relationship with Christ – a heavy move for a preacher. There isn’t an equally emotional return of the prodigal son moment to counter this life-changing choice.
As I mentioned, Bernsen captures the life of a small rural town however. Having come from a similar background and having been surrounded by the kinds of folk presented in this production, I can say I have met the people in this film. In particular, Moore’s father Glen (Frank Gall) is very convincing. The performance may come across as stiff and stodgy to urbanites, but I was greatly impressed with how real Gall was in the role. Each time he was on screen, I kept remarking at how I knew men like him in my youth.
The production as a whole is not a game-changing work of art that challenges its audience. It is, however, a simple and earnest film. It is a lukewarm movie that I recommend, not because I found it be a great work, but because I don’t have good enough cause to turn you away. If you are a fan of Christian film, as traditionally constituted, this will be a good pick for you. I would also say that if your tastes tend towards the more conventional, again this is worth a chance. If you’re a cynic, or jaded, I would imagine this production will probably not speak to you much.
PhotobucketBernsen is the writer/director/producer and lead actor for this production. His performance is strong and he shows why he has enjoyed a stable career over the past few decades. His work as director is quite conventional and reveals an eye trained on television production more than film. This leads the movie to have a made-for-TV feel. While this isn’t necessarily a crime, it does cut into the production’s vibe, it feels small.
Where the film tends to suffer the most is in the writing. While Bernsen does manage to capture the simple dialog and thinking of a rural small town, he stumbles with his plotting. We never get to know the family who perishes in the fire. Moreover, we don’t have much emotional connection to Moore’s friend Travis (Lloyd Warner). This means that there isn’t a huge emotional payoff in the final moments. In addition, the film opens with Moore denouncing his relationship with Christ – a heavy move for a preacher. There isn’t an equally emotional return of the prodigal son moment to counter this life-changing choice.
As I mentioned, Bernsen captures the life of a small rural town however. Having come from a similar background and having been surrounded by the kinds of folk presented in this production, I can say I have met the people in this film. In particular, Moore’s father Glen (Frank Gall) is very convincing. The performance may come across as stiff and stodgy to urbanites, but I was greatly impressed with how real Gall was in the role. Each time he was on screen, I kept remarking at how I knew men like him in my youth.
The production as a whole is not a game-changing work of art that challenges its audience. It is, however, a simple and earnest film. It is a lukewarm movie that I recommend, not because I found it be a great work, but because I don’t have good enough cause to turn you away. If you are a fan of Christian film, as traditionally constituted, this will be a good pick for you. I would also say that if your tastes tend towards the more conventional, again this is worth a chance. If you’re a cynic, or jaded, I would imagine this production will probably not speak to you much.
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