I'm Not Ashamed

Taking something very tragic and turning it into some inspiring made this film watchable.

"I'm Not Ashamed" (2016 release; 112 min.) brings the story of 17 yr. old student Rachel Scott, who was the very first victim at the Columbine High School tragedy in 1999. As the movie opens, we get TV footage from those horrifying moments right after the shootings. We then go back in time, when Rachel was 8 years old, and her parents are splitting up, leaving her mom in a financial struggle to raise 5 kids. We then go to "April 1998 - Sophomore Year", with Rachel doing well in school. Rachel is particularly interested in the drama class. At this point we're not even 15 min. into the movie but to tell you more would spoil your viewing experience.

Couple of comments: this movie is marketed as a "christian" film, and plays out like one. If that is going to bother you, please do yourself a favor and catch a different movie for your enjoyment. I really didn't know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised at the maturity, even sophistication, of this movie (the script is based on Rachel's journals, we are reminded at the beginning of the movie). That said, it is also a bit of a missed opportunity, as it focuses mainly on Rachel, and not hardly any time on the 2 shooters. If you have the expectation that this movie might delve into the "why did they do it", this movie will not provide the answer (other than some very general and broad brushes). All that said, the last 15 min. of the movie packs an emotional wallop, for obvious reasons. The movie makers hit the bull's eye when they cast Masey McLain as Rachel, she is absolutely fantastic. Bottom line: this is a fine movie (made on a dime, total budget a mere $1.5 million). But if you want to understand Columbine, this is not the movie for it. (Earlier this year, Sue Klebold, the mother of Dylan, one of the 2 Columbine shooters, issued a devastating memoir called "A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy", which I would readily recommend to anyone, Christian or not.)

The movie opened on a couple of screens this weekend here in Cincinnati. The Saturday matinée screening where I saw this at was attended very nicely, somewhat to my surprise. It sounds like there is a market for well-made Christian films. If, on the other hand, you want to get a look at the promising life of one of the Columbine victims (who this year otherwise would be 34 years old), then I would readily recommend you check this out, be it in the theater, on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray.

Let me start by saying the death of anyone at the age of 18 is by definition a tragedy. Rachel Scott who was a committed Christian never got a chance to put her life and beliefs into a wider world. Who knows what a longer life experience might have made of her. Masey Mclain gives a most touching performance as Rachel, the first person killed in the Columbine High School massacre of 1999.

The larger issues of why such weaponry got in the hands of these two disturbed individuals Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold is totally ignored. We see a bit of what turned them into what they became, bullied kids who finally just snapped. I read with fascination the fact that a line was omitted from one of these characters where he admits to being gay and he's afraid of winding up like Matthew Shepard. As this is a Christian film it sure wouldn't do to admit homophobia might cause a person to snap.

The story of Rachel Scott is what is concentrated on in I Am Not Ashamed. But who knows if there had been less of a bullying atmosphere and no easy access to weaponry that tragedies like Columbine might not happen.

Hopefully a more intellectually honest film will come along and do just that.

I don't consider this a Christian movie, it's a movie about Rachel and her experiences at Columbine during the last year of her life. I'm not sure why people are discrediting the movie. Richard Castaldo was shot only inches away from Rachel, he told the press that Eric asked her about her belief in God before he shot her. Also, the basement tapes showcase Eric and Dylan's disdain for Jesus and Christianity.....and life. The movie shows the difficult environment these columbine students had to navigate daily, it's worth a watch.

Based on the journal of a person who had got killed in the 1999 shooting at a high school in the US. Really inspiring character and the story, till that final horror event. But the real shame was, the filmmakers used it to promote religious. Or maybe they have highlighted too much from the religious aspect. Because, her life and that horrific event connected with her unexpected prediction which are only a coincident, rather any miracle from heaven. I'm not against believers, but I anticipated honest, a reality, not fantasy.

So coming to the film, apart from misusing a real person's life, it was a nice film. Nice casting and performances. Masey McLain was so pretty and awesome in her role. Don't expect it to be the film about that 1999 shooting. It was not about that, except it had a connection as everything was built behind it. They have shown very little from that angle towards the end. Some of the real footage attached in those parts. Yeah, the end was emotional as expected. Everyone might not find it a good film for what I had told earlier, nevertheless the true story deserves some respect.

6/10