His Only Son movie review

MOVIE TITLE: His Only Son

Timed perfectly for Passover and Easter, this movie about Abraham’s faith is now playing in theaters, as well as streaming online.

RATING: PG-13

LENGTH: 1 hour 46 minutes

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE: B

IN A NUTSHELL:

This religious movie is based on the Bible account of the prophet Abraham and a request from God that tested his faith. The movie was written, produced, and directed by David Helling. He does it all for the first time! In a recent interview, he explained that he did a lot of praying while working on this film to ensure he would do the monumental story justice.

THINGS I LIKED:

The movie is a great introduction to the story for those unfamiliar with the events, but it also offers a unique and fresh perspective on the characters who have studied the Old Testament story for years.
The movie features actors I’ve never seen in anything before. The leading couple, Abraham and Sarah, are played by Nicolas Mouawad and Sara Seyed.
One thing that’s unique about this telling is that it weaves the Old Testament story with Jesus from the New Testament, illustrating the incredible symbolism and showing how the Jews should have recognized Jesus as the Messiah when he came to earth to be sacrificed as the lamb of God. All of the symbols pointed to Christ. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son…”
The cinematography is beautiful.
Angel Studios has brought us the incredible, record-breaking The Chosen (I love it!), The Wingfeather Saga (never seen it), and are now distributing this film. In fact, Angel Studios crowdfunded the project to earn $1.3 million in 100 hours, and the box office brought in $5.5 million for its opening weekend. Not bad! The studio is calling this The Chosen meets The Passion of the Christ.
The movie asks the viewer how deep his/her faith is and at what length would they be willing to prove it to God. What’s truly compelling is the obedience to God that is demonstrated by all of the characters, no matter the cost.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

Some of the costumes and fake wigs look very low-budget and amateurish. So disappointing.
In order to stretch out the story into a feature film, there are a lot of slow moments of contemplation and some imagined conversations among characters.
Almost all of the movie is somber. We often see Christian movies that portray turmoil and drama, hardly ever demonstrating the joy that can be found by living the gospel. That always bugs me. I wish the movie showed obedience out of love for God, rather than fear or duty only.
The humor of The Chosen is definitely not present in this film.
There are some flashbacks that might confuse viewers of the timeline.
Sarah is portrayed as a woman without faith and even one who is angry with God because she can’t bear children. I understand that sentiment; however, the scriptures actually tell us otherwise in Proverbs 31, saying, “Who can find a virtuous woman for her price is far above rubies?” I’ve always thought of her as being loving, kind, patient, and willing to obey God and support her prophet-husband.