I found the first "introductory" part of the film (if that is what it was) a bit off-putting. I started to wonder if I was watching a Christian tutorial rather than a movie. I have only watched it once, (just got it), so I'm not sure what that was, but I think it would have been better put after the film or as some separate category.
I'm glad I watched past those confusing first minutes. This movie was very well made, well scripted and very well acted, especially by the lead and supporting actors.
I have not seen a LOT of Christian movies, but at least half a dozen or more, and I thought this was the most amazing, by far.
The way the storyline is written on IMDb is not exactly correct, it gives of a good gist of what is going on in the movie.
Something fascinating is going on in this movie. A woman who was not a Christian when she fell into a life of alcohol and whatever else, became a Christian during the ten years after she left her former life (and baby) behind. And, as is the true case, when a person becomes born again in Christ s/he becomes a new creation. Same body, same memories, same basic personality -- but new, and with a new priority and perspective in life. It is both subtle to "see" as well as enigmatic to experience, whether in one's own self or seeing it in another.
This film went to depths I cannot honestly say I have ever seen in any other film, Christian or non. As to the person who called it "preachy," I beg to disagree. Explaining the Christian perspective is not preachy; it is simply a communication. I found this movie to be very non-preachy. I also found it interesting how no one actually seemed to "push" for the lead male character to consider becoming a Christian. Had that happened, then I would have agreed it was preachy. But that did NOT happen.
The film also covered the worries and doubts of a newer Christian finding herself/himself in the "same" situation but with new parameters. Heather did not expect her "ex" to want her back. She was more ready for him to marry his "new" girlfriend. When the tables turned back to her and he wanted to be married to her, she remembered some of his bad habits in their former life together and worried about being married to him again as a Christian who would feel she had to "submit" to him. This is just one of many angles explored in the film.
Another reviewer criticized Heather for not just coming out and saying that she didn't feel she could remarry him because of her Christian walk. But it's not that simple. There are many layers to the situation and she was trying to make her way through, at times her faith faltering. She was so very grateful that she had been forgiven; but really was not prepared for the possibility of reuniting to the family as wife and mother. That is a big deal -- and the film treated it as such.
I'm lucky. I bought the DVD at the library not really knowing what to expect, and this is a film I know I will enjoy again and again.
One last note: I found it strange that Lionsgate, at the beginning of the DVD, felt a need to basically say, "Lionsgate does not agree with the opinions in this film" or some such. Was that really necessary? (No, it was not!)
I'm glad I watched past those confusing first minutes. This movie was very well made, well scripted and very well acted, especially by the lead and supporting actors.
I have not seen a LOT of Christian movies, but at least half a dozen or more, and I thought this was the most amazing, by far.
The way the storyline is written on IMDb is not exactly correct, it gives of a good gist of what is going on in the movie.
Something fascinating is going on in this movie. A woman who was not a Christian when she fell into a life of alcohol and whatever else, became a Christian during the ten years after she left her former life (and baby) behind. And, as is the true case, when a person becomes born again in Christ s/he becomes a new creation. Same body, same memories, same basic personality -- but new, and with a new priority and perspective in life. It is both subtle to "see" as well as enigmatic to experience, whether in one's own self or seeing it in another.
This film went to depths I cannot honestly say I have ever seen in any other film, Christian or non. As to the person who called it "preachy," I beg to disagree. Explaining the Christian perspective is not preachy; it is simply a communication. I found this movie to be very non-preachy. I also found it interesting how no one actually seemed to "push" for the lead male character to consider becoming a Christian. Had that happened, then I would have agreed it was preachy. But that did NOT happen.
The film also covered the worries and doubts of a newer Christian finding herself/himself in the "same" situation but with new parameters. Heather did not expect her "ex" to want her back. She was more ready for him to marry his "new" girlfriend. When the tables turned back to her and he wanted to be married to her, she remembered some of his bad habits in their former life together and worried about being married to him again as a Christian who would feel she had to "submit" to him. This is just one of many angles explored in the film.
Another reviewer criticized Heather for not just coming out and saying that she didn't feel she could remarry him because of her Christian walk. But it's not that simple. There are many layers to the situation and she was trying to make her way through, at times her faith faltering. She was so very grateful that she had been forgiven; but really was not prepared for the possibility of reuniting to the family as wife and mother. That is a big deal -- and the film treated it as such.
I'm lucky. I bought the DVD at the library not really knowing what to expect, and this is a film I know I will enjoy again and again.
One last note: I found it strange that Lionsgate, at the beginning of the DVD, felt a need to basically say, "Lionsgate does not agree with the opinions in this film" or some such. Was that really necessary? (No, it was not!)