Hi everyone!
It’s another catchup week here at One Movie Punch, especially in the wake of the 92nd Academy Awards yesterday evening. Most of our episodes went into pre-production before the ceremony, so I can’t tell you right now whether today’s film, BREAKTHROUGH, won the award for Best Original Song, after being nominated seemingly out of nowhere. So, in lieu of Matinee Monday, and with BIRDS OF PREY being covered by the lovely folks at the Comics in Motion Podcast during next week’s Takeover Tuesday, I figure this is my opportunity to check this one out for all of you.
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Here we go!
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Today’s movie is BREAKTHROUGH(2019), the religious drama directed by Roxann Dawson and written for the screen by Grant Nieporte, based upon the book by Joyce Smith. The film follows the tragic story of John Smith (Marcel Ruiz), who falls into a frozen lake and is rushed to a hospital, pronounced dead. When his adopted mother Joyce Smith (Chrissy Metz) whispers a prayer over his inert body, his heartbeat suddenly returns, putting the faith of the community to the test.
No spoilers.
I’ll be honest; I was really hoping someone else would pick up today’s film for review. I don’t have a great track record when it comes to evangelical Christianity, whether that’s dealing with preachers screaming at students and telling them that they’re going to hell, or the gross alliance between the so-called Moral Majority and the Republican Party which re-launched the culture wars, or any number of horrific incidents with the more strident members of that particular sect of Christianity. Opinions are one thing. Actions are another. And quite often the two are in conflict with that particular. Granted, I know some of that criticism is very personal, but some of it is also very public, especially when megachurch owners accumulate massive funds, which go to the actual oppression of the LGBTQ community.
The same wealth has been used to fund and distribute a growing library of evangelical Christian pictures, from companies like veteran Pure Flix and up-and-coming Kingdom Studios. There’s definitely money to be made, especially on the backs of the best-selling Left Behind series, which gave evangelical Christians their own post-apocalyptic world to explore, and two attempts at a film franchise, based around an esoteric idea of The Rapture. It’s not just about the money, however, but also the belief that these films are meant to be evangelical efforts, not just telling a good story, but delivering the good news, and to help grow their ranks. And it’s this evangelical component that generally gets in the way of what could otherwise be a decent film.
Films with an evangelical bent are trying to convert you, generally by either proving to you the power of God in our everyday lives, or by presenting a community that will accept you should you wish to change your life. The films also adhere to strict Christian principles, staying away from obscene language, sexual themes outside of abstinence, and nearly any competing viewpoints, unless they are to be disproven, as in the GOD’S NOT DEAD franchise. We’re not getting the full realism of our everyday lives, but a sanitized version of reality, which means while the films might be intended as a form of evangelization, they generally only appeal to other evangelical Christians, which can be seen in both the critical and the audience scores.
BREAKTHROUGH, as such, did not appeal to me in the least bit. I found the film to be almost consistently ham-handed when talking about God, trying too hard to emphasize how much of a miracle John’s recovery is, or how strong of a faith his mother has, or how important the church is within their community. God is clearly the focus in the film, both thematically and story-wise, as personified in Joyce’s adherence to her faith and examination of her own flaws. Chrissy Metz is easily the best thing about this film, turning in a convincing performance that elevates key scenes from the usual dramatic sequences into tear-jerking experiences. But with God being overtly inserted all the time, each small faith lesson short-circuits the other stories that are attempting to be told.
Thematic content aside, the film also suffers from feeling too much like a television show, or a made-for-television movie. Director Roxann Dawson crosses over from her most recent career as a television director for her first feature with BREAKTHROUGH, and her extensive television experience shows in the pacing and framing. Over two hours, we get a lot of great scenes for television, when time generally needs to be filled, but take away from the overall pacing of John’s recovery story. However, there are also some incredible shots that work well for the film, particularly the more artistic underwater shots and the overall composition of the community’s visit to the hospital. Not bad for someone who found their break as B’Elanna Torres on “Star Trek: Voyager”!
I also think that Grant Nieporte’s adaptation of the source material has a lot to do with the overbearing themes and pacing issues. Joyce Smith’s account of her son’s drowning and recovery, in book form, can take the time to talk about her son’s life, and his unique circumstances, and his challenges at school and home, along with her own struggles with faith. Adaptations generally need to make choices, and BREAKTHROUGH doesn’t make enough of them. We shouldn’t have to wait roughly forty minutes to get to the major conflict, nor should we try to set up multiple focal points for the film. We should focus either on Joyce’s faith, or John’s recovery, or the community as a whole, and leave loose ends like adoption, haircuts, and sign-up sheets for a limited series or television format. It works, and it will land with the evangelical audience, but it will fail as an evangelical piece, because the same parts that attract their core audience will be turn away their target audience.
BREAKTHROUGH is an evangelical drama that tells the story of a young man who miraculously survived drowning. While the film will delight those already evangelized, it will frustrate non-evangelical viewers with its ham-handed approach to God and its lack of thematic focus throughout. Fans of heartwarming dramas, or evangelical pictures, will definitely appreciate this film.
Rotten Tomatoes: 61%
Metacritic: 46
One Movie Punch: 5.5/10
BREAKTHROUGH (2019) is rated PG and is currently playing on HBO.
