Starring
Sam Worthington, Octavia Spencer, Aviv Alush, Sumire, Radha Mitchell,
Tim McGraw, Graham Greene. Directed by Stuart Hazeldine. (2017, 132
min).
Really,
God?
My
brutal, alcoholic dad regularly beats the hell out of me & Mom until I'm
finally forced to stop his reign of terror myself, and you want me to forgive
him? Then my youngest daughter gets abducted and murdered by a serial
killer, and your advice for dealing with pain that no parent should ever
be forced to endure is simply let it go and forgive that
guy???
That's
the gist of The Shack, based on the bestseller by William Paul
Young, whose own story is more interesting than anything in this
film. Yet another faith-based movie that mostly preaches to the converted,
Sam Worthington plays Mack, a grieving father who, months later,
still can't get over the tragedy (Entire months, huh? What a
crybaby). Too bad he couldn't be more like the rest of his family,
who appear to mourn poor Missy for about as long as one would cry
over a vehicle-stricken pet.
But
this is all about Mack. In fact, before it's even confirmed that
Missy is dead, his wife (Radha Mitchell) appears more concerned about
comforting her husband than their missing daughter.
 |
| "Dude, you were supposed to bring the bait." |
Later,
Mack gets a cryptic letter, inviting him to the same shack in the
woods where Missy was murdered. It turns out the letter is from God,
here to help Mack deal with his pain. Yeah...great plan. What better
place to come-to-terms with a murdered child than revisiting the
place where her bloodstains are still on the floor? God manifests
himself as three people, Papa (Octavia Spencer), Jesus (Aviv Alush)
and Sarayu (Sumire). They're sort of a Holy Trinity tag-team, taking turns explaining life's bigger picture, God's plan and
why we should never judge others (even if they're serial killers).
And
here lies the biggest problem with The Shack: God isn't all
that convincing, no matter how eloquently he presents his argument,
mostly through ambiguous riddles and symbolic illusions. The conceit
of "get over it and trust God"
is almost offensively simplistic when applied to the magnitude of a
murdered child, ultimately rendering this film more depressing and fatalistic than inspirational.
 |
| As Mack is about to discover, there are no problems so insurmountable that a Necronomicon can't fix. |
Of
course, The Shack is obviously aiming for a specific audience,
but one would think even those whose daily diet consists of blind
acceptance would appreciate a side order of justice in this case. If we're expected to swallow the idea of a grieving parent learning to forgive a serial killer over a single weekend, that message
wouldn't really diminish if the murderer was at-least caught and brought to
justice. In fact, a climax where Mack confronts the killer
face-to-face to test his newfound forgiveness would arguably convey the movie's message more effectively. Simply from a story standpoint, having the killer get away scot-free is like rubbing salt in an open wound, making it a challenge for even the most faithful to get on-board with God's plan.
Elsewhere,
despite some pretty locations and a charming, laid-back performance
by Aviv Alush,The Shack moves
at a snail's pace towards its inevitable denouement, offering no
surprises, a dull checklist of revelations by a main character who
isn't all that interesting to begin with. Aside from occasionally
reminding the viewer how horrible losing a child would be, the film
is emotionally vacant, its 'inspirational' message ringing completely hollow.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
FEATURETTES:
"Something Bigger Than Ourselves: The Making of The Shack";
"Premiere Night: A Blessed Evening"; "God's Heart for
Humanity"; "Touched by God: A Writer's Journey"
"HEAVEN
KNOWS" - The Power of Song with Hillsong United
DELETED
SCENE
AUDIO
COMMENTARY - by Director Stuart Hazeldine
DVD
& DIGITAL COPIES
KITTY CONSENSUS:
MEH...
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