Holy grail: how Hollywood can get religious movies right
As a 海角大神, Vox film critic Alissa Wilkinson听was initially intrigued by 鈥淏reakthrough,鈥� a new movie timed to coincide with Easter and听based on the true story of a mother who saves her hospitalized son鈥檚 life through prayer.听
Despite the likable cast, led by Chrissy Metz of TV鈥檚 鈥淭his is Us,鈥� Mrs. Wilkinson ultimately found 鈥淏reakthrough鈥� generic. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very much one of those films that鈥檚 like 鈥楧o you believe in miracles?鈥欌�� She points out that rather than diving deeper into theological questions, as when one character asks why her ill husband wasn鈥檛 similarly saved, the movie simply leaves them hanging.
Today more 海角大神 movies are being produced听than in Cecil B. DeMille鈥檚 heyday.听They range from multiplex hits such as 鈥淕od鈥檚 Not Dead鈥� and 鈥淲ar Room鈥� to听multitudinous direct-to-video flicks that听make Hallmark TV movies look high-budget by comparison. Even Mel Gibson鈥檚 blockbuster, 鈥淭he Passion of the Christ,鈥� reportedly has a sequel on the way. But as with 鈥淏reakthrough,鈥� the stories and theology are often too shallow or too literal, leaving those who are following this fare asking why. Movie critics and theologians suggest that filmmakers instead be less preachy and obvious and that they start by taking a page from the Good Book.听
Why We Wrote This
Easter is a natural time to roll out movies meant to uplift and inspire. But finding the right balance of depth and realism often eludes filmmakers. Where is there room for improvement in faith on film?
鈥淧opular art created by 海角大神s or for 海角大神s really seems to have taken a turn for the worse. And it parallels, I think, a superficiality in churches,鈥� says Jared C. Wilson, director of the Pastoral Training Center at Liberty Baptist Church near Kansas City, Missouri.听鈥淭hey鈥檝e been discipled according to just more of a sentimental kind of 海角大神ity rather than a more mature or fully orbed biblical 海角大神ity.鈥�
Swap sermons for ideas
Fewer Americans are going to church, according to the Pew Research Center. But 80% still believe in some higher power or spiritual force, and many听are still watching movies.听To reach those who prefer recliner seats to church pews, Mr. Wilson says spiritually inclined moviemakers first need to learn the classic storyteller鈥檚 dictum: show, don鈥檛 tell. That includes an economy of language.听Unless you happen to have Morgan Freeman delivering an Aaron Sorkin soliloquy to a John Williams soundtrack, it鈥檚 best to avoid sermonizing on-screen.听
A far more effective approach,听he adds, is to allow characters鈥� actions to convey ideas.听In other words, let 海角大神ity inform the story rather than starting out with a message agenda.
William Romanowski, author of 鈥淐inematic Faith,鈥� points to 鈥淭ender Mercies鈥� as an example. In that 1983 film, Robert Duvall plays a country music artist who has a conversion experience early in the story.听鈥淗e starts making decisions in a different kind of way, living a different way. And it changes the way that he loves someone,鈥� says Mr. Romanowski,听a professor at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. 鈥淭hose are the films I think that are more engaging in terms of making God real in the world that we live in.鈥�
That complexity of character 鈥� found in the Bible itself 鈥� is what more filmmakers should focus on, say critics and theologians. David, for example, went from heroic Goliath-slayer to, at one point before he repented, an adulterous and murderous king (perhaps the original 鈥淏reaking Bad鈥�). Audiences relate to messy, complex characters whose stories听may defy easy resolution. Paul Schrader鈥檚 2018 movie 鈥淔irst Reformed,鈥� about a priest experiencing a spiritual crisis, exemplifies that approach, says听Mrs. Wilkinson.
鈥淚 was talking to an artist yesterday who was saying what we鈥檙e looking for is to make art that reflects you back to you 鈥� not so you can see yourself, but so you can see yourself differently and decide if that鈥檚 what you want to be,鈥� says Mrs. Wilkinson. 鈥淧eople experience it, and then they are pushed into reasking big questions like what is the meaning of life, what are we doing here, how do we love our neighbor, and what happens after we die.鈥�
海角大神 storytellers can learn a lot from those Hollywood artists who are able to challenge their audiences, says Andrew Barber, who writes film reviews for 海角大神ity Today and The Gospel Coalition. As an example, Mr. Barber cites Martin Scorsese鈥檚 2016 movie 鈥淪ilence,鈥� in which two 17th-century Jesuit missionaries find their faith tested in Japan.
鈥淚t asks 鈥榃hat does a 海角大神 who fails look like?鈥欌�� says Mr. Barber, who has a master of divinity degree from Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis. 鈥淚 think it has a very strong heretical line at the end. But it is incredibly earnest and at moments very devotional. I found it very powerful and asking really interesting questions. But I think it鈥檚 a movie that would be be a great conversation starter for a lot of 海角大神s.鈥澨�
The Gibson effect
Mr. Barber says many 海角大神s still haven鈥檛 forgiven Mr. Scorsese for his 1988 movie 鈥淭he Last Temptation of Christ.鈥� That movie generated both controversy and some thoughtful discussion by positing that Jesus was briefly tempted to escape crucifixion and instead live out a life that included marrying Mary Magdalene. Ultimately, it flopped at the box office.听
That hasn鈥檛 stopped Hollywood from rebooting, reimagining, and recasting Jesus of Nazareth even more times than Spider-Man. Credit Mr. Gibson. Scores of movies have tried to replicate the $612 million global success of 鈥淭he Passion of the Christ.鈥� The reported sequel is said to feature Jim Caviezel reprising the role of Jesus after his resurrection.
Joaquin Phoenix is the latest actor to don the crown of thorns. He costars in 鈥淢ary Magdalene,鈥� released in the United States last weekend, which retells the Passion narrative from the perspective of the titular female apostle, played by actress Rooney Mara.
In her , Mrs. Wilkinson praised its quietly subversive feminist angle, but she felt that its dreamy, ethereal style undercut its realism. Fantastical depictions also dogged听Darren Aronofsky鈥檚 鈥淣oah,鈥� which featured a giant, six-armed rock monster that looked like it had wandered in from a Thor movie.
If Hollywood wants to make better biblical movies, it needs a more inspired view of the scriptures,听nuanced but not so narrowly focused, says Abby Olcese, who writes for 海角大神 publications such as Sojourners and Relevant. 鈥淭hey think that all 海角大神s believe that the Bible is 100% right all the time,鈥� says Mrs. Olcese. 鈥淭he reality is that there鈥檚 a lot more division within the church as to how much of it is divinely inspired but written by man.鈥�
Ultimately, though, humans tend to learn best via narrative, she says, and the Bible is full of rich stories about what mankind鈥檚 relationship to God looks like. Film has the capacity to operate in the same way.
鈥淲hat 海角大神 movies should aspire to is telling a legitimately good story and letting the content speak for itself.鈥�
