Jesus Revolution tells an interesting story about the confluence of the hippy movement and religion in the late 1960s in California. It's a fascinating story, but I just don't think this film does a very good job of telling it.
The main reason for this is that there are almost too many 'main' characters. The film seems unable to settle on a protagonist, and had they done so it might have felt like a tighter narrative with more impact. As a result I found it hard to get truly invested in any of the characters as they felt too poorly fleshed out.
Still, the film does have a lot of ground to cover and there were quite a few influential figures to navigate, so perhaps I am being a little harsh. A lot is crammed in and for the most part it does all land.
The performances are all pretty solid, particularly Kelsey Grammer and Jonathan Roumie, with their relationship and interactions forming the more interesting parts of the film.
I also thought that the message of the film was conveyed quite well, even if the events weren't translated that well onto screen. The essence of what the movement was and the feeling was captured very well, and despite not being religious I did find myself swept up in certain moments and feeling quite emotional.
Despite there being a few missed opportunities, this is a decently enjoyable watch with lots of great moments. I do think it is a bit messy and could have done with maybe 15 minutes more to get into some of the characters and events in more depth, but this film is really more about the feeling and that is conveyed well enough.
The main reason for this is that there are almost too many 'main' characters. The film seems unable to settle on a protagonist, and had they done so it might have felt like a tighter narrative with more impact. As a result I found it hard to get truly invested in any of the characters as they felt too poorly fleshed out.
Still, the film does have a lot of ground to cover and there were quite a few influential figures to navigate, so perhaps I am being a little harsh. A lot is crammed in and for the most part it does all land.
The performances are all pretty solid, particularly Kelsey Grammer and Jonathan Roumie, with their relationship and interactions forming the more interesting parts of the film.
I also thought that the message of the film was conveyed quite well, even if the events weren't translated that well onto screen. The essence of what the movement was and the feeling was captured very well, and despite not being religious I did find myself swept up in certain moments and feeling quite emotional.
Despite there being a few missed opportunities, this is a decently enjoyable watch with lots of great moments. I do think it is a bit messy and could have done with maybe 15 minutes more to get into some of the characters and events in more depth, but this film is really more about the feeling and that is conveyed well enough.