I Still Believe movie review by Movie Review Mom

RATING: PG

LENGTH: 1 hour, 55 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: A-

IN A NUTSHELL:

What makes this Christian movie interesting is that it’s the true-life story of singer Jeremy Camp. It shines a touching spotlight on love, loss, success, hope, and God’s plan for each person. If you’re not into Christian films, this one feels more like a “gateway movie” because it focuses more on the love story than Bible-thumping. Written and directed by Andrew and Jon Erwin, the film will give you some things to think about and cry about. Bring tissues.

While critics hated this movie (like they usually do with Christian films), audiences seem to love it.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

No profanity.
Talk of cancer and illness.
Life/death
One of the characters has disabilities.

THEMES:

Truth
Love
Faith
“Maybe God has chosen something bigger for me, something I wouldn’t have chosen for myself.” – Melissa Henning (Britt Robertson)
“I am so scared, but I have to believe there’s a reason. If one person’s life is changed by what I go through, it’ll all be worth it.” – Melissa Henning (Britt Robertson)
“My life is not full despite the disappointments; it’s full because of them.” – Dad (Gary Sinise)

THINGS I LIKED:

Britt Robertson is perfect in every movie she does. As expected, she was fantastic in this one too. I believed the chemistry she and K. J. Apa had together.
You get to hear some beautiful music, classic Christian songs, and some new tunes.
The concert scene in the movie was filmed at an actual concert called “The Hangout Fest” in Alabama.
The story of romance was sweet, but for a Christian, the most compelling part of the movie is one that challenges the idea of faith during trials. It’s easy to believe in God when His plan aligns with ours and things go well. The test is whether or not you’ll still believe in Him when things don’t happen the way you want them to or have no explanation for. Britt Robertson’s character said, “Suffering doesn’t destroy faith. It refines it.” That’s so true. The times in my life when I have grown the most spiritually are when I have had to struggle through trials or disappointments. That’s when our hearts truly connect with God and our souls can hear Him. Maybe because it’s during those times that our hearts are finally softened enough to accept His will and that’s all we have to hold on to.
You get to see photos and video of the real Jeremy Camp at the end of the movie. I didn’t know anything about him or his story, so the ending wasn’t spoiled for me.
I loved the metaphor of stars representing our life and the challenge to shine where we are placed. Our light can touch others for good.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

Super corny dialogue.
Jeremy lays it on thick romantically after he has only known Melissa for a short time, talking about their destiny together. Maybe it really happened that fast or maybe they just had to speed up the plot and timeline?
How can you have a movie with the wonderfully talented Shania Twain in it and not have her sing????
Any date at a planetarium just feels like a cliché after that scene in the movie La La Land.
The love triangle didn’t make that much sense. Jean-Luc La Joie didn’t make any moves, so he shouldn’t have been so upset if Melissa moved on. She seemed to be more careful with Jean-Luc’s feelings than with her own boyfriend’s. Come on.
Don’t see the trailer if you can avoid it. It pretty much shows you everything that happens in the story.
I would have liked the movie to dig even deeper, to see the conversion and turning point of faith.
It’s sort of annoying to watch good-looking people act like they’re nervous and awkward.
Not much humor.

INTERESTING LINES:

“It’s not about making it. It’s about what songs give people.” – Jean-Luc La Joie (Nathan Parsons)
“I write love songs…for God.” – Jean-Luc La Joie
“God is so infinitely fast and this is his painting” – Melissa Henning while looking at the stars
“I’m just a star in an infinite galaxy.” – Melissa (Britt Robertson) “Some stars shine brighter than others.” – Jeremy Camp (K. J. Apa)

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