There's no denying the prominent place faith-based movies have found lately, and it's good that they're around for people who are open to them. But if there's ever going to be a chance for them to reach a broader market it's probably going to take a different movie than The Shack. The film may be based on the novel that reached millions worldwide but the trailer serves up a healthy dose of cheese to go along with some heavy message-making.
Sam Worthington stars as a father whose youngest daughter is kidnapped on a family vacation, with evidence suggesting she was brutally murdered in a remote shack in the woods. Experiencing a crisis of faith lasting for years, he receives a letter from God telling him to spend a weekend vacation in the same shack where his daughter was killed, as some kind of exercise to get his life back on track. Now that's some tough love for ya. While there he meets three people (Octavia Spencer appears to be God, with Aviv Alush as Jesus) who will help him discover important life truths and understand the tragedy.
I'm not totally sure Worthington is the right guy for the lead role; he seems to be overacting like crazy. At least he's surrounded by the likes of Spencer, Graham Greene, Radha Mitchell, Alice Braga, and genre staple Tim McGraw as the living embodiment of an advice column. That last part's a lie but he sure talks like it. McGraw also performed the song heard in the trailer.
Directed by Stuart Hazeldine, The Shack opens March 3rd 2017.
