1992 religious comedy
Rating: 13/20
Plot: Pretending to be a faith healer and revival preacher, the oddly-named Jonas Nightengale winds up in a small farming community suffering from economic hardship, party because of a drought. Nightengale and his posse squeeze bloody cash from their turnips as he performs miracles and preaches the word of God. He connects with a crippled kid and his sister.
I almost really liked this movie, but it struggled to find a voice and I wasn't sure it knew what it wanted to say. First, let me get Philip Seymour Hoffman out of the way since he's the reason I watched this. He's not in it much of all and does nothing at all that would make you remember the guy. He's sort of playing the same guy from Twister but with a headband. Meat Loaf is also in this, but he and his man-boobs are also barely noticeable. I did enjoy his tie/shirt clash though. And there's Liam Neeson trying to contain his accent as the sheriff of this nondescript American town. You will be ready to drop everything and listen when he utters, "I want to testify." But this is all Steve Martin's show, and he's good although I'm not sure why anybody would look at him and think, "Yep, that's a legitimate preacher man." I loved how physical he made the role, gesticulating and dancing and hooting and hollering and even pulling off a half shirt. And oh, dig that sparkly jacket that turned Martin into a human disco ball! It's a nice visual, as is the giant Jesus lurking behind him. I also enjoyed the choir although I was never sure where they came from or, if they were part of Nightengale's entourage, how they were paid. The trio of revival scenes are lively. This is more dramatic than funny, but it really fails to connect emotionally and meanders a little too much with characters I had trouble getting interested in. I do like the questions it brings up although it seems thematically uneven. I kind of thought I'd like this better the second time I watched it, but that wasn't really the case. Maybe I'm just angry because Marjoe Gortner didn't star in the thing.
Being raised Pentecostal, this movie has a soft spot for me. You didn't mention the music in your blog. I thought the sound track was one of the great attributes of the film. It does what any great movie score is supposed to do: help direct the audiences emotions. It preps the viewer and leads him/her.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Steve Martin wouldn't be my first choice either, but then if you took that role too seriously, it may come off as grotesquely offensive. So, Martin's discernment on how much levity to have was appropriate.
Again, every time I watch it, it makes me relive the many revivals I attended. I've experienced that congregation; I've played on that pulpit. For those who may not have had the same holy-rollin' childhood I had, this movie accurately highlights how folks in a physical-meets-spiritual realm behave.
It's certainly not one of my top 100 films, but it's a good tool to convert someone; it's kinda Pentecostal Light for beginners.
Well, I did mention liking the choir. I don't remember the score though.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that your experiences match this...I would have thought it was cinematic hyperbole.
So what's your take on the end of this? I'm really confused about the "message" of this...
That's what evangelicalism is: spiritual hyperbole. It's over-the-top emotion, all the time. Emotion is what evangelicals (and most other Christian faiths) play off of, and that's what this movie articulated so well.
ReplyDeleteThe theme of this movie is pretty much "miracles are what you make of them." In other words, It's not a miracle until you believe to be one. This movie isn't pushing a Jesus agenda, but instead saying that great things - unexplainable things - can happen. The word we choose to define those experiences is "miracle."
Now, when I say "unexplainable," I'm not saying that there is no explanation anywhere in psychology or science. But instead that we have emotional/spiritual experiences and feel satisfied in them.
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ReplyDeleteAfter reading your naked nun comment in the post about "Doubt," I did a little web search of my own. However, I stumbled upon this excerpt from the Marjoe Gortner doc "Marjoe." It definitely touches upon all the things that I've seen and what "Leap of Faith" may have tried to do with the story they were trying to tell. No nude nuns, but it's a pretty interesting watch anyway (only about 9 mins).
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-NwKD9laZw