For so long, Christian films have been playing catch up with Hollywood. They've been like the chubby little sibling running after an older sibling—stumbling and bumbling, clearly unable to keep pace, but yelling "Wait up!" the whole time. It's been hard to watch . . . even annoying at times as some films (*cough* Pureflix *cough*) give credit to the "Cheesy Christian film" stereotype.But no more!
The important thing was time. Time for aspiring Christian filmmakers to mature and take each little stepping stone. Time for budgets to expand and real actors to take notice. Time to hone stories to artfully engage and captivate by "telling instead of showing." It took time to trim out the cheese.
Amazingly, I can now say that much like how the age gap between two siblings becomes unrecognizable over time, Christian movies are right there with Hollywood in terms of quality. This is abundantly true of I Can Only Imagine, the real-life story of Christian music artist Bart Millard. The film artfully weaves Bart's personal life with his professional start in the music industry. It shows how Bart's young life of abuse by his father shaped his insecurities and made chasing a dream so hard, yet so vitally important, in his life. It shows how crushing it was when those in Nashville told him "you don't have it", and how Bart all but gave up on his dream of singing for the Lord.
But then, at this turning point of disappointment and broken dreams, I Can Only Imagine chronicles a real-life miracle. It shows the transformation of a monster to a man of God, and the impact that can have on a broken son's life. It shows the healing God can bring not only to broken dreams, but to broken relationships!
I cannot praise this film enough. I went into I Can Only Imagine with modest expectations. After all, how ho hum of a concept, putting the life story of a contemporary Christian music artist to film. However, in reality it blew me away! It quickly became one of, if not my favorite, films. It will make your heart swell and your tears flow at the amazing work of God. "When you take something broken and make something out of it, what is that called? There's a word for it," Bart's dad muses.
"Redemption," Bart replies, and that is exactly the testimony displayed through this film in powerful, powerful ways.
You will be drawn by the "realness" of the characters, and in fact, the story hits every benchmark of good storytelling to a "T". It is very engaging, the quickest hour and a half I have spent in a long time. The filmmaking is also fantastic and very high quality.
Eventually, younger siblings have a tendency to overtake their elders in skill and performance, and I can see that day coming thanks to the work of the directors of this film, the Erwin brothers. Noticeable actors like Dennis Quaid (I Can Only Imagine) and Jon Voight (Woodlawn) have signed onto the films the Erwins are producing, and I pray even more of Hollywood can't help but take note. I can see a day where not only is a role in a Christian film sought after, but envied--and more than that, that the Christian faith is envied thanks to great films like I Can Only Imagine.
It's taken awhile for this chubby little toddler of the Christian film industry to hit stride production-wise with Hollywood, just like it took David time to find smooth stones to take Goliath down with. But now those "smooth stones" are in hand, and David is winding up. Proof in point, I Can Only Imagine beat Disney's A Wrinkle in Time at the box office this weekend. It's a marvel that can only be seen in person, at the theater, and that is where I encourage you to go. Witness I Can Only Imagine for yourself, and be blessed.
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