This past Thursday evening (June 19, 2008) I was invited to be part of a special pre-screening for a film called Fireproof. Such pre-screenings are usually worthwhile, since most are free, and you usually get to have an advanced glimpse at some interesting upcoming films. I’ve attended a few of these in the past, both for Christian films such as The Second Chance, and for more big budget fairs such as Mel Gibson’s Apocalipto. However, this is the first time I’ve had a medium such as this blog for discussing a film in anticipation of its release.
Fireproof, brought to us by the creators of Facing the Giants, is the story of Caleb (played by Kirk Cameron), a firefighter whose marriage is falling apart. The film follows Caleb’s attempts to win back the love of his wife as they finally reach the breaking point in their marriage. Caleb’s father presents a challenge to him, giving him a book with hand-written instructions Caleb needs to follow for the next forty days in order to regain the trust and love of his wife. The notebook is referred to as “The Love Dare.” Caleb reluctantly takes this on, but eventually comes around to embracing the challenge whole-heartedly.
I’ll admit, I haven’t seen Facing the Giants. It can be hard for me to get excited about Christian films being a filmmaker, even if I am a Christian. I’ve seen too many bad Christian films in the past. Being a lover of great cinema, I often find stronger arguments for spending my precious time re-watching Casablanca than sitting through yet another inadequate attempt to transform the medium of cinema into a sermon. Yet, after seeing the preview for Fireproof and being invited to the screening, I actually had high some high hopes for the film.
To be clear, “Christian” films seems to fall into two camps. The first consists of those films made by Christians with a clear Christian message and even conversion experience within the story of the film (what I’d call a traditional understanding of a Christian film). These films are clearly evangelistic in nature, and that is something I often struggle with as a lover of cinema, since I find that the medium doesn’t lend itself too well to such direct preaching to the audience. Such films often overstep their bounds as a piece of cinema and become a singular tirade on the wages of sin or the need for salvation. As far as this filmmaker is concerned, that’s not the proper use of this medium, and shows a real misunderstanding of what the limitations and strengths of the cinematic medium are. The second camp are films made by well known Christians that deal with Christian themes without making a blatant Gospel presentation or conversion experience within the film. Films that fall in the second category, such as The Second Chance, fair better in my eyes, offering the audience an experience to contemplate without breaking the cinematic illusion by preaching directly to the audience.
Fireproof is in fact part of that first category of Christian films. It, however, is a welcome breath of fresh air. It is not a perfect film. But as far as blatantly Christian (proclamation-centric) films go, it has a lot to offer. For once I found characters in a Christian film of this kind which I could relate to easily. Caleb and his wife, Catherine (played by Erin Bethea) are people I found myself caring about and emotionally invested in. Aside from thinking at times that no non-Christian couple would keep such heated fights so clean of swear words (something I found a little cheesy at points), their dynamics and relationship struggles worked for me. I genuinely wanted to see them come through this together. Cameron, when given a fairly good script, is able to deliver an admirable performance. Bethea, whose only other feature film experience (according to IMDb records, at least) is Facing the Giants, shows some real potential, though I don’t think this film fully showcases the talent that might be buried just a little deeper within her. I hope to see her in other films in the future. What Fireproof did right for me was make me care. Where so many other Christian filmmakers craft only rudimentary characters, Caleb and Catherine felt like real people to me, and they responded by-and-large how I would expect real people to react in such situations. My hat’s off to writers Alex and Stephen Kendrick (Alex directed the film as well, with Stephen producing).
Characterization in the supporting roles is a bit mixed. Caleb’s fellow firefighter and best friend Michael (Ken Bevel), is certainly the most compelling supporting character in the film, and at times even delivers a better performance than the leading roles. He does have some fairly cheesy interactions with his wife, but that comes down to uncreative dialogue writing in such scenes. I understand what the filmmakers wished to get across in those scenes (contrasting a healthy marriage to an unhealthy one), however the cute dialogue just didn’t cut it for me. Some things work on film, other don’t.
The other supporting characters in the film, while fairly well played and quite fitting to the story, felt more like “characters in a film” than people I might actually meet. Caleb’s father (Harris Malcom) plays an important role in the film, but comes across a little more like a pastor than a father. This is especially problematic considering he supposedly has not been a follower of Christ all his life, but has only more recently come into his faith. Other characters in the film are there to provide comic relief or heighten the tension, as with the handsome doctor Catherine begins to fall for. These characters work to varying degrees, but could have been infused with a little more dimension, as far as I’m concerned.
An important point to stress is that I did find the film to be quite entertaining. The firefighting and rescue scenes are quite intense and certainly build in momentum and tension. A lot of care was taken in crafting these scenes, and that is something I applaud. The comedic scenes work well most of the time, and help break up the dismal mood as Caleb and Catherine’s marriage continues its downward spiral through the second act of the film. On the whole, the film is an enjoyable ride.
Shot entirely digitally, with the use of prime lenses, the film has a cinematic quality to it that tops a lot of other Christian films I’ve seen. There were still points at which I noticed clipping of highlights (the loss of detail in the whites) in some shots—a problem with many digital formats. Other scenes could have benefited from a little better lighting. I was not given any reason to believe that the film is still undergoing color correction at this point, but that may be the case—though no amount of color correction can ultimately undo less-then-adequate lighting. However, the film is professionally and carefully crafted. I certainly am being nit-picky in my technical criticism here (but that’s part of what this blog is about). The firefighting scenes stand up well in an age of high-strung Hollywood action. And to be perfectly clear, Fireproof is a film that does not settle for quality taking a backseat to the message as many other films like it in the past have. Despite some shortcomings (which all films have to some degree, really), I feel the Kendrick brothers understand that cinema is an experiential medium, and the only means by which to get their point across is to provide the audience with a good experience.
What ultimately makes the film is that I did find it to be emotionally satisfactory. Cinema is primarily an emotive medium, so filmmakers should seek to understand how one moves an audience—or really, how an audience responds to a film. This single factor can thrust a movie into the social consciousness as a great film or cause it to be viewed as merely another forgettable two hours of so-so entertainment. While Fireproof certainly won’t win any academy awards, it is a good film, and worth watching. Again, this is coming from a rather jaded and cynical Christian with his own fair share of post-Christian, post-Evangelical, and post-modern influences, who would by no means ever refer to himself as a “Christian filmmaker” (that’s just not how I approach filmmaking). That, however, does not mean I can’t appreciate the heart of the filmmakers in this venture and the story being told.
One factor that will be a bit of a wild card for Fireproof (in its effort to bring the importance of saving marriages to the forefront of cultural dialogue) is this: how will men respond? One thing I really admire about this film is that it takes on the issue of pornography addiction without becoming entirely consumed by the issue, or making us dislike the leading male character. He’s got a problem, but we want him to succeed. We’re in the struggle with him. The film resists the urge to judge Caleb for his addiction, but rather presents it as another obstacle (and a rather difficult one) he needs to overcome in order to regain his wife’s trust. But how will men respond to this struggle and Caleb’s efforts to save his marriage? As my father pointed out after the film (I invited my parents to join me for the screening that evening), how men respond to this film will depend in large part on the kind of relationship they have with their own fathers. After all, Caleb only takes on “The Love Dare” because his father so strongly encourages him to do so (and keeps encouraging him throughout the film). I’ll be curious to see more male reactions to the film once it is released.
Fireproof will be released on September 26th, and I encourage you to check it out. It is an admirable effort, a film with heart, and one with enough entertainment value to make it worth a few bucks at the box office and two hours of your weekend. And who knows, you just might find some food for thought. After all, in our divorce-happy culture, a film whose central struggle is not just the redemption of two characters, but their marriage as well, is something to be contemplated. Maybe even . . . celebrated.
(Mikel rated this film on IMDb as an 8 out of 10.)
Fireproof, brought to us by the creators of Facing the Giants, is the story of Caleb (played by Kirk Cameron), a firefighter whose marriage is falling apart. The film follows Caleb’s attempts to win back the love of his wife as they finally reach the breaking point in their marriage. Caleb’s father presents a challenge to him, giving him a book with hand-written instructions Caleb needs to follow for the next forty days in order to regain the trust and love of his wife. The notebook is referred to as “The Love Dare.” Caleb reluctantly takes this on, but eventually comes around to embracing the challenge whole-heartedly.
I’ll admit, I haven’t seen Facing the Giants. It can be hard for me to get excited about Christian films being a filmmaker, even if I am a Christian. I’ve seen too many bad Christian films in the past. Being a lover of great cinema, I often find stronger arguments for spending my precious time re-watching Casablanca than sitting through yet another inadequate attempt to transform the medium of cinema into a sermon. Yet, after seeing the preview for Fireproof and being invited to the screening, I actually had high some high hopes for the film.
To be clear, “Christian” films seems to fall into two camps. The first consists of those films made by Christians with a clear Christian message and even conversion experience within the story of the film (what I’d call a traditional understanding of a Christian film). These films are clearly evangelistic in nature, and that is something I often struggle with as a lover of cinema, since I find that the medium doesn’t lend itself too well to such direct preaching to the audience. Such films often overstep their bounds as a piece of cinema and become a singular tirade on the wages of sin or the need for salvation. As far as this filmmaker is concerned, that’s not the proper use of this medium, and shows a real misunderstanding of what the limitations and strengths of the cinematic medium are. The second camp are films made by well known Christians that deal with Christian themes without making a blatant Gospel presentation or conversion experience within the film. Films that fall in the second category, such as The Second Chance, fair better in my eyes, offering the audience an experience to contemplate without breaking the cinematic illusion by preaching directly to the audience.
Fireproof is in fact part of that first category of Christian films. It, however, is a welcome breath of fresh air. It is not a perfect film. But as far as blatantly Christian (proclamation-centric) films go, it has a lot to offer. For once I found characters in a Christian film of this kind which I could relate to easily. Caleb and his wife, Catherine (played by Erin Bethea) are people I found myself caring about and emotionally invested in. Aside from thinking at times that no non-Christian couple would keep such heated fights so clean of swear words (something I found a little cheesy at points), their dynamics and relationship struggles worked for me. I genuinely wanted to see them come through this together. Cameron, when given a fairly good script, is able to deliver an admirable performance. Bethea, whose only other feature film experience (according to IMDb records, at least) is Facing the Giants, shows some real potential, though I don’t think this film fully showcases the talent that might be buried just a little deeper within her. I hope to see her in other films in the future. What Fireproof did right for me was make me care. Where so many other Christian filmmakers craft only rudimentary characters, Caleb and Catherine felt like real people to me, and they responded by-and-large how I would expect real people to react in such situations. My hat’s off to writers Alex and Stephen Kendrick (Alex directed the film as well, with Stephen producing).
Characterization in the supporting roles is a bit mixed. Caleb’s fellow firefighter and best friend Michael (Ken Bevel), is certainly the most compelling supporting character in the film, and at times even delivers a better performance than the leading roles. He does have some fairly cheesy interactions with his wife, but that comes down to uncreative dialogue writing in such scenes. I understand what the filmmakers wished to get across in those scenes (contrasting a healthy marriage to an unhealthy one), however the cute dialogue just didn’t cut it for me. Some things work on film, other don’t.
The other supporting characters in the film, while fairly well played and quite fitting to the story, felt more like “characters in a film” than people I might actually meet. Caleb’s father (Harris Malcom) plays an important role in the film, but comes across a little more like a pastor than a father. This is especially problematic considering he supposedly has not been a follower of Christ all his life, but has only more recently come into his faith. Other characters in the film are there to provide comic relief or heighten the tension, as with the handsome doctor Catherine begins to fall for. These characters work to varying degrees, but could have been infused with a little more dimension, as far as I’m concerned.
An important point to stress is that I did find the film to be quite entertaining. The firefighting and rescue scenes are quite intense and certainly build in momentum and tension. A lot of care was taken in crafting these scenes, and that is something I applaud. The comedic scenes work well most of the time, and help break up the dismal mood as Caleb and Catherine’s marriage continues its downward spiral through the second act of the film. On the whole, the film is an enjoyable ride.
Shot entirely digitally, with the use of prime lenses, the film has a cinematic quality to it that tops a lot of other Christian films I’ve seen. There were still points at which I noticed clipping of highlights (the loss of detail in the whites) in some shots—a problem with many digital formats. Other scenes could have benefited from a little better lighting. I was not given any reason to believe that the film is still undergoing color correction at this point, but that may be the case—though no amount of color correction can ultimately undo less-then-adequate lighting. However, the film is professionally and carefully crafted. I certainly am being nit-picky in my technical criticism here (but that’s part of what this blog is about). The firefighting scenes stand up well in an age of high-strung Hollywood action. And to be perfectly clear, Fireproof is a film that does not settle for quality taking a backseat to the message as many other films like it in the past have. Despite some shortcomings (which all films have to some degree, really), I feel the Kendrick brothers understand that cinema is an experiential medium, and the only means by which to get their point across is to provide the audience with a good experience.
What ultimately makes the film is that I did find it to be emotionally satisfactory. Cinema is primarily an emotive medium, so filmmakers should seek to understand how one moves an audience—or really, how an audience responds to a film. This single factor can thrust a movie into the social consciousness as a great film or cause it to be viewed as merely another forgettable two hours of so-so entertainment. While Fireproof certainly won’t win any academy awards, it is a good film, and worth watching. Again, this is coming from a rather jaded and cynical Christian with his own fair share of post-Christian, post-Evangelical, and post-modern influences, who would by no means ever refer to himself as a “Christian filmmaker” (that’s just not how I approach filmmaking). That, however, does not mean I can’t appreciate the heart of the filmmakers in this venture and the story being told.
One factor that will be a bit of a wild card for Fireproof (in its effort to bring the importance of saving marriages to the forefront of cultural dialogue) is this: how will men respond? One thing I really admire about this film is that it takes on the issue of pornography addiction without becoming entirely consumed by the issue, or making us dislike the leading male character. He’s got a problem, but we want him to succeed. We’re in the struggle with him. The film resists the urge to judge Caleb for his addiction, but rather presents it as another obstacle (and a rather difficult one) he needs to overcome in order to regain his wife’s trust. But how will men respond to this struggle and Caleb’s efforts to save his marriage? As my father pointed out after the film (I invited my parents to join me for the screening that evening), how men respond to this film will depend in large part on the kind of relationship they have with their own fathers. After all, Caleb only takes on “The Love Dare” because his father so strongly encourages him to do so (and keeps encouraging him throughout the film). I’ll be curious to see more male reactions to the film once it is released.
Fireproof will be released on September 26th, and I encourage you to check it out. It is an admirable effort, a film with heart, and one with enough entertainment value to make it worth a few bucks at the box office and two hours of your weekend. And who knows, you just might find some food for thought. After all, in our divorce-happy culture, a film whose central struggle is not just the redemption of two characters, but their marriage as well, is something to be contemplated. Maybe even . . . celebrated.
(Mikel rated this film on IMDb as an 8 out of 10.)
3 comments:
I'll definitely check this one out... and i clicked on all the ad links :)
I linked to your review, the first on of Fireproof that I've seen.
http://supercandid.blogspot.com/2008/07/fireproof-first-review.html
I look forward to the release of Fireproof. Especially after reading this review. I would have seen it even if it had been given a bad review because, unlike Mr Wisler, I did see Facing the Giants and found it to be an absolutely wonderful and deeply moving movie. It presents a strong message but does not make the audience want to pull back from it which isn't an easy accomplishment. At the beginning of the movie it started out a bit slow and the filming didn't seem to be as professional as I had hoped, but once the movie gets going, you don't even notice it. I don't know if it's because the quality of the film making improved or because I was just so involved in the story line that the other didn't matter. It made me laugh and cry and it's a movie that both the men and the women along with the young and the old thoroughly enjoyed. If you haven't seen it, you should.
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