Lifemark

This movie won't be pulling in any acting awards in the near or far future but for a lazy day of mindless tv watching it was fine, even heartwarming. That is until its alternative motives were made clear. I guess I wasn't paying close enough attention to see where it was going. The end got super preachy with an anti-abortion chaser that discussed none of the nuances that may come into play when women make the decision to abort. As a woman and an adoptee I was low-key offended by the simplistic adoption vs abortion binary they drew in this movie.

The last quarter of the movie was disappointing and infuriating in turns which colored my overall perspective in a negative way.

It probably wouldn't be fair to just trash this film out of hand. There will doubtless be many who find the pro-life message it emphasises life-affirming. As a piece of cinema, though, it is a shockingly simplistic and one-sided attempt to suggest to young women facing that most difficult of decisions that all in the garden is ridiculously rosy! We start with "David" (the easy on the Raphael Ruggero) whom we discover has been adopted by the Christian (that's important) Colton family - "Jimmy" (Kirk Cameron) and "Susan" (Rebecca Rogers). They live a happy life with the young man a keen wrestler about to go on to college. Sadly, though, injury befalls him and after surgery to relieve pressure on his brain - the recovery from which would put Lazarus to shame - he has to rethink his plans. Meantime, his birth mother realises that he is now eighteen and so attempts to get in touch. The rest of this rather sentimentally cheesy drama follows a slightly nauseating path, I found, aided unhelpfully by his rather irritating mate "Nate" (Justin Sterner) who insisted on filming everything on his phone - even some of the most sensitive and personal moments as the story evolves with an almost menacing degree of indoctrinating pontification - subtle, yes - as an air raid! The acting, especially from the adults, is twee and pedestrian in the extreme with adulation and fawning galore as we plod along towards an ending that I found supremely condescending. This is at best, a mediocre television movie that should only be shown in cinemas with a warning that it completely lacks any sense of balance. The soundtrack is also banal - plinky plonky piano chords just to reinforce the gloopiness. I didn't hate it. Cameron et al are entitled to their point of view, but if this is supposed to be in any way educational or realistic, then I'm Tom Thumb!

This movie could have been so much better:

• if it was written better. Too many teary moments...not very realistic.

• if it didn't keep referring to God so often. Seems like everyone in the movie was into God and praising God. Not very realistic.

• if David's friend didn't have his iPhone in everyone's face, recording everything, and no one complaining about it. Not very realistic.

I could go on, but basically the movie is for God loving people who see no wrong in anything anyone does. Not very realistic.

The movie could have been so much better if the above wasn't in it. Maybe they should have implemented the KISS principle (keep it simple silly) when they made this movie?

As a Christian who is a film buff, I have a love-hate relationship with Christian movies. Many seem too preachy, or hateful towards atheists or liberals, and many are not well shot.

I think The Kendrick Brothers make good movies though, and this one, their first dramatized true story, is their best film yet. I saw it with my Grandma, and we both gave it a 10/10. I hope that they continue to tell true stories.

Lifemark is a true story about an 18-year-old named David who was adopted. (Kirk Cameron, who did the Kendrick Brother's film Fireproof, plays his adoptive father.) Now that he is an adult, his birth mother wants to meet him. After some consideration, he agrees, and has a life-changing meeting with her.

From a filmmaking standpoint, it's very well made. No Oscars will come its way, (which is a little disappointing), but compared to other faith-based movies, even Kendrick Brothers films, the camera work, acting, and pace are all well done for a faith-based movie.

The story was also engaging. Often, in 2 hour movies, I have to use the bathroom in the middle. Lifemark is one of the few movies I have ever seen in theaters in one sitting. The fact that Lifemark is a true story that sticks to the facts makes it all the more incredible.

There is also some light humor in the film. One scene that comes to mind is a scene where David's birth mother asks him if he'd like to go skydiving, and there are some laughs involving David's best friend's fear of falling in the sky. (I'm with you, man! You couldn't pay me a million dollars to skydive!)

Most of all though, like the Kendrick Brother's previous film, Show Me The Father (a fantastic documentary, by the way), Lifemark's best quality is the film's heart.

Lifemark has a pro-life message. While it may seem convenient that this film releases just 2.5 months after the overturning of Roe V. Wade, this movie has actually been in the works for 3 years, long before the Dobbs V. Jackson buzz was going around.

Anyways, I have seen other pro-life Christian movies that were not good. Unplanned tells a contradictory story of a Planned Parenthood director becoming pro-choice to pro-life, and Loving The Bad Man tells of a rape victim not only having her attacker's baby but falling in love with the attacker as well. (I have reviewed both movies on my page if you would like to read more about my critiques of those movies.)

Lifemark tells a consistent and powerful story though. My Grandma and I were in tears often, like in a scene where David finds out that he was almost aborted. After The Bible and movies, the abortion debate- and the pro-life side in particular, is my 3rd main interest, and that made this movie even more powerful.

Sadly, due to the controversial nature of the message, Lifemark is only in limited theaters from September 9th-15th. I had to go to a theater almost 20 minutes away to see it. If you can see it in the next few days, please do. If not, buy the DVD. I'm going to ask for it for Christmas.

Lifemark is one of the most powerful movies I have ever seen, as well as one of the best Christian movies I have ever seen. With movies like this and Father Stu and less ones like God's Not Dead and Unplanned, Christian movies are only improving. The fact that true stories are being told, rather than far-fetched fiction, seems to be a benefit.

Simply put, Lifemark will set a mark in your life. No matter your views on religion or abortion, Lifemark has my highest recommendation.

***

Note to Hollywood: Co-writer and co-producer Alex Kendrick has stated that he's heard rumors of movies in favor of abortion are coming out in response to Roe's overturning. If that is the case, know that I do not intend to be in the theater for those. I want life-affirming stories, not death-affirming ones.

(I do enjoy Lake of Fire, a documentary about the complexity of both sides of the abortion debate.)

***

The plot of this film has been done a few dozen times before. Sometimes, the subject matter has been handled sensitively, and most other times the subject matter was handled shabbily. The old story of the birth mother wanting to reunite with the child who has been adopted can easily fall into the cornball acting syndrome. Fortunately for this film and its actors, it does not. The script is intelligent, the actors are believable, and the situation is handled in a sensitive manner. All of these good variables make this an easy decision to recommend this film to the public. The only reservation I have about the film is its overreliance on religion.