Courageous
Cops Struggle to Juggle Careers and Fatherhood in Faith-Based Family Flick
Courageous
Rated PG-13 for violence and drug use.
Running time: 129 minutes
Distributor: Tri Star Pictures / Affirm Films
PG-13, 2 hr. 10 min.
Drama, Faith & Spirituality
Directed By: Alex Kendrick
In Theaters: Sep 30, 2011 Wide
Sony Pictures
Film Review by Kam Williams
Excellent (4 stars)
When Pastor Alex Kendrick read a report back in 2003 alleging that movies
had become more of an influence on impressionable young minds than the
church, he decided to do something about it. He and his brother, Stephen,
co-founded Sherwood Pictures in order to make their own faith-based films.
Operating on a modest budget under the aegis of the Sherwood Baptist Church
of Albany, Georgia, the Christian-themed studio has previously produced a
trio of well-received, inspirational morality plays, most notably,
Fireproof, which grossed over $30 million at the box-office alone.
A bona fide Renaissance Man, Pastor Alex not only writes and directs each
feature, but stars in them as well. Plus, he is the author of several
best-selling novels, including The Love Dare, a New York Times #1 Best
Seller which remained on the list for 115 weeks while selling over 3 million
copies and counting.
Courageous, Kendrick’s latest cinematic offering, is an alternately
action-oriented and thought-provoking adventure which thoroughly entertains
while ever so subtly issuing a clarion call for a cultural rededication to
traditional family values. The story specifically telescopes tightly on the
trials and tribulations faced by a quartet of colleagues serving on the
Albany Police Force.
We witness an endearing male bonding among the four at work as they
cultivate the trust necessary to know a buddy will have your back when
apprehending perpetrators in dangerous situations. However, an entirely
different type of camaraderie is called for after hours as they try to
unwind from the stresses of the day in the company of their wives and
children.
It is that struggle to juggle career and fatherhood which sits at the heart
of Courageous, a sobering parable designed to make men reflect on what’s
most important in life. And to varying degrees, each of the picture’s
protagonists proves to be a flawed individual.
First, there’s Officer Adam Mitchell (Kendrick), who’s been chided by his
wife, Victoria (Renee Jewell), for not devoting enough quality time to their
kids. He can’t catch a break, between missing daughter Emily’s (Lauren
Etchells) dance recitals and declining son Dylan’s (Rusty Martin) repeated
offers to run a 5K race together.
Then we have Adam’s partner, Shane Fuller (Kevin Downes), who behaves more
like a pal than a dad to his 12 year-old, perhaps because he was left
emotionally wounded by his own parents divorce. Consequently, he’s taken to
filling that hole in his soul in an inappropriate manner.
The third officer is Nathan Hayes (Ken Bevel), an 8-year vet from Atlanta
who has just moved his family back to his hometown to raise his kids in a
city with a slower pace. He never even met his own father until he was 37,
so foremost among his issues is figuring out how to parent a flattered 15
year-old (Taylor Hutcherson) who’s head is being turned by a 17 year-old
(Donald Howze) gang member with his own car. Finally, there’s Nathan’s young
partner, David Thomson (Ben Davies), a deadbeat dad who is denial about the
existence of a 4 year-old daughter born out-of-wedlock.
Each of the aforementioned predicaments eventually boils over into a crisis
leading to a moment of truth. But no matter the issue, again and again the
question seems to return to whether or not one is ready to summon up the
requisite amalgam of courage, faith and resolve to be a man.
A moving, modern parable not to be missed by anyone who’s always wondering
why they don’t make wholesome movies with uplifting messages anymore.