To Save a Life the Movie – A Review

Make sure you check out Paul’s interview with Jim Britts – youth worker & movie writer/producer

THE CROWD
The audience that watched the flim last night was largely middle-aged and up and not involved with youth ministry. I assumed this because of the surprises & gasps at some of the teen behavior that was portrayed in the movie.

The scenes weren’t over the top at all, but I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised that they were out of touch with the reality of the lives of teenagers.

The crowd responded very positively, I just wish I would have been in the room with an unchurched audience, or teenagers, or at least my peers. The crowd last night wasn’t the intended audience nor will it be the audience that buys tickets in theaters.

MOVIE PRODUCTION

There were tons of shots and framing throughout the movie. I had the sense that shots were actually thought out prior and the post production guys did a great job creating a fast-moving story that didn’t leave out important elements.

Some really creative cuts were used and flashbacks that weren’t overdone or cheesy.

The music wasn’t one of those preachy soundtracks from an endtimes movie. “I Dare You to Move” is still a great track, but a little dated. I might have suggested something a little more current that would have mainstream appeal, but otherwise the music worked.

On the whole, I’d have to give production an “A.” It was very good.

ACTING

Jim Britts did a great job of putting the cast together. I know when you hear someone say that they used kids out of their youth group as extras the first reaction is to cringe. But I heard the news after the movie was over, and, to be honest with you, they looked like regular extras to me.

All the main characters are actors with serious resumes that you can view on the movie page at

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1270286/

Is the acting going to win a big award? No.

Was it as good or better than a “Hannah Montana” movie or “Transformers?” Yes.

And that’s as good as it needs to be. Teens won’t criticize the acting and they will identify with the characters in the movie.

STORY

There are plenty of movie summaries out there, so I’m not going to talk about the storyline in that kind of detail.

What I will say is that it really is a good story that can connect with any teen Christian or not.
A couple of cuss words, weekend parties, sex, popular people, rejected people, an apathetic youth group, a pastor who doesn’t quite get his youth pastor, a youth pastor who is about heart change not religiosity – all of these things collide to create a pretty relevant and honest storyline (and the Senior Pastor’s son is the bad guy in the movie – awesome!).

The film might get a little undeserved criticism from church people for showing pot smoking and sex. But those people are just going to have to face reality and start coping with culture like their kids are having to now. And if they think that their kid is okay just because he or she goes to youth group, well…I’ll leave that for you to sort out with that parent.

The other thing that was great with the storyline is that the lead character Jacob does give his life to Christ but he doesn’t change his hairstyle, he doesn’t start brandishing a Bible, or have that brainwashed look on his face. He’s normal. He’s never read the Bible and He’s taking his first baby steps towards living this new life out.

And his life starts crashing around him. And he even experiences some of the consequences of the things he’s done before he gave His life to Christ.

Some things didn’t all get worked out by the end of the movie. And that’s perfect because it’s not perfect.
There are endless topics to discuss as a result of watching the film. And in my opinion, in most cases, unless there is a unique opportunity like seeing it on a big screen, you often don’t get a safe enough environment to talk about many of these issues.

THOUGHTS ON USING THE FILM…

• Use this film as a resource to open the door for conversation.
• Don’t rent out a screening and try to preach afterwards. If you do, then you become the stereotype.

Most importantly I think…

Look for a unique opportunity to connect with students who’ve seen the movie but don’t belong to you yet. Is there a chance that perhaps you can go to students rather than them showing up at your youth group to hear a teaching or a discussion? What I mean by that is can you go to their schools and offer something to them? If you can take your need for getting them to sign on the dotted line off the table, I sincerely think that you could gain a voice in public schools to speak with students about all the issues that are presented in the movie. They are not just Church vs. Culture issues, these are issues that parents (Christian or not) and teacher & administrators (Christian or not) are concerned about. And they desperately need and would love to have your support.

Make sure you check out Paul’s interview with Jim Britts – youth worker & movie writer/producer

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