If you’ve tuned in to any kind of Christian media in the last week or so, you probably already know that the latest movie from Sherwood Pictures, Courageous, opens today. I saw the film myself a couple of weeks ago to review it for Plugged In. And when I was done watching it, my overriding sense was that this was a movie people need to see—especially fathers.
I’m not going to write too much about the film itself here, other than to say it tells the dramatic story of five dads who rethink their commitment to their families in the wake of a terrible tragedy. (Read my review for the rest of the details.)
What I want to say now actually has more to do with the film’s audience than it does with the film itself:
Sherwood Pictures’ previous efforts, Fireproof, Facing the Giants and Flywheel, have won more than a few fans since brothers Alex and Stephen Kendrick released their first movie back in 2003. Each film they’ve crafted has taken in more at the box office than the last, gradually proving to Hollywood that Christians will head to the multiplex to see stories that resonate with their values and beliefs.
A few Christians I’ve talked to, however, have been a bit cool to Sherwood’s approach to integrating faith into film. If you’ve seen any of these movies, you know that they all include prayer, Scripture reading and conversion stories as characters respond to the gospel message. But for the folks I’m talking about, that approach has seemed a bit too sermon-esque. A bit too much like church, actually. And those aren’t the kind of films they’re interested in.
It’s an issue that the Kendrick brothers are definitely aware of. In a 2008 interview with Plugged In, Alex talked about Sherwood’s approach to making movies, specifically whether having such a strong spiritual agenda might come across as too preachy. “There are two views,” Alex said. “One is that you should let the art speak for itself and let people infer from it what God wants to say. The other view involves using the art to present the gospel in no uncertain terms so that people won’t miss it. There’s a place for both. God has called us to a certain style of filmmaking, and we’re going to stay true to that. Our goal is for it to be natural but clear. We want to have a solid gospel message so intertwined in the plot that it never feels like we’re pausing the movie to preach to the audience. We want it to come through in natural conversations, lived out in everyday ways. People are so influenced by movies, television and the Internet. We’re just thrilled to create entertainment that glorifies the Lord and points people to Him.”
“Natural but clear.” Courageous was exactly that for me, for a couple of reasons, the first of which centers on what doesn’t happen onscreen: A father’s prayer isn’t answered the way he wants it to be answered. And his faith is subsequently tested as he tries to make sense of why God allowed a terrible loss to happen to his family.
So in that sense, Courageous illustrates that really bad things sometimes happen to faithful Christians—a challenging but inescapable reality. That may seem to you like a really weird reason to like a movie. But for me, this film had a degree of realism that felt really authentic—something even well-crafted secular movies (especially sports dramas!) sometimes struggle with.
But that’s not the only reason Courageous worked for me. The second big reason is more personal, namely that it hit me right where I live. As a father of three kiddos under the age of 5, I sometimes feel pretty overwhelmed with all the responsibility that comes with the job. Life’s complicated and stressful, and that can leave me feeling grumpy and unappreciated. I don’t think I’m doing a bad job as a dad, but I have this nagging sense that I probably could do it a bit better too.
Just as the Promise Keepers movement did 15 years or so ago for so many husbands and fathers, Courageous powerfully reminded me of how hugely important my role as a dad really is. And it challenged me to let go of the petty ways I become self-absorbed. In other words, this is a movie that exhorts fathers to man up. And I really need that kind of encouragement from time to time.
I don’t always like being preached to. But sometimes a good sermon—whether in church or on the big screen—is exactly what I need. And I suspect that there are a lot of dads out there just like me, who could use a renewed dose of courage in their calling to be the fathers God wants them to be.
Recent Comments