Promised a Miracle

Rosanna Arquette and Judge Reinhold deserve tremendous credit for their sensitive and respectful performances in this treatment of an extremely difficult subject.

The movie shows exactly how the scammers and parasites use "faith" to exploit the gullible when they are at their most vulnerable.

At UCLA film school I was taught that there are two kinds of movies: good ones and bad ones. This is a good one. It is good because it does compel the viewer to watch it all the way through, and because once you have seen it, though you may forget the title years later, you will never forget the story, nor the actors who portrayed these parents. The facts surrounding their decision are shocking. If you have any empathy at all, you cannot stop thinking about what happened to this boy's siblings and parents as a result of being influenced by wolves in sheep's clothing. It is very sad, and indeed, as I looked for this title again today to tell someone about this movie, which I saw many years ago, I was shocked to see news in May 2012 of another case in Oklahoma of a diabetic child deprived of insulin because the mother believed God would heal him. Shaking my head.

This is an important film, a must-see in religious studies classrooms everywhere.

The movie grabs us, almost in spite of itself, because of the importance of the issues it deals with. That's really the only reason to watch it. Both the principals are actors of modest talent, although Rosanne Arquette gets a chance to stretch herself a bit. The production values are low, the dialogue clunky, and the direction efficient without being in any way imaginative. In other words, it's a regular made-for-TV weeper, except that the movie, reflecting the case itself, asks us to consider exactly how far these two parents (or any of us) are willing to go to demonstrate the depth of their faith. This movie deals with the tragic death of a boy who was denied insulin because his parents belonged to an ideology that asserts that illness and healing are in God's hands. Well -- okay. Would you be willing to sacrifice your son for your beliefs? How about if you believed in an ideology that identified another religion or another nation as "evil" and called upon you to release your son to wage war against them?

You see my point. We can recognize the folly in belief systems like those of the mother and father in this case, because we ourselves don't subscribe to them. But when we are members of an ideological community that recruits, say, soldiers or suicide bombers, we might find ourselves watching proudly as they march off to an equally senseless death.

Mr. and Mrs. Parker refuse to betray their trust in God. It's easy for us to judge them because we are outside their box. The movie ultimately takes the same position as we do. The parents are treated sympathetically throughout, so that we never feel they are stupid or evil. Yet, at the end, as Reinhold and Arquette embrace, he quotes from the Bible of the three good things -- faith, love, and something else. "And the greatest of these is love," he finishes the quote. And he explains to Arquette (and to the audience) that they made the mistake of putting faith before love, thus causing the death of their son. He might as well have turned to the camera and explained, "You see, it's like this. Faith in God is a good thing, but it's a bad idea to put all your eggs in one basket. If you love somebody or something, you use all the tools in your arsenal, including prayer AND medicine." (I'll bet the AMA loved this one!) I wish he'd have taken it a bit further. All things in moderation, including faith in God. Another five minutes of this and he could have turned into a closet Buddhist.

I'm deliberately kidding. But, all seriousness aside, suppose this benighted couple were pacifists. They would then be outside of OUR box. And when they observed the slaughter of the belligerents in war, they might feel roughly the way we do towards them. What a big mistake they made.

You have to be careful with any movie that is labeled a "Docudrama". Just because it claims to be true doesn't necessarily mean what we're seeing on screen actually happened. I was totally aware of this when I first watched "Promised a Miracle" on CBS back in 1988. But this did a first: It was powerful enough and moving enough to change my opinion. What do I mean by that? Let's go back to 1973.

That is the year when the Wesley Parker case filled the news during that August of 1973. Wesley Parker, 12 year old (I believe it was 12 but I may be wrong) son of Mr. & Mrs. Larry Parker - and diabetic - was supposedly faith healed. Three days after his insulin was thrown away, Wesley died. But were the parents grief stricken? Nope. They then announced to a stunned nation that Wesley would rise from the dead four days later. Then "Resurrection" services were held for Wesley, in which he was not resurrected, and one week later Mr. & Mrs. Parker were arrested for manslaughter. I never did know how this case turned out, but for some reason I never forgot the name Wesley Parker and what had happened. All these years I thought the parents had to be really stupid and terrible people. How could they let such a horrible thing happen to their own child?

Which is why "Promised a Miracle" is one of the most amazing Made-For-TV movies I've ever seen. With an intelligent script and absolutely first-rate performances by Judge Reinhold and Rossanna Arquette, the movie managed to turn my opinion and allowed me to feel actual sympathy for the parents. They were NOT horrible stupid people. What they were was misguided. They loved Wesley with all their heart and truly believed that a higher source would indeed cure their son and bring him back. One of the most heartbreaking scenes occurs a little past the hour mark when Larry and Lucky Parker finally have to admit the most horrible thing that parents could ever admit: They let Wesley die. He would not be coming back, and they would have to live with it for the rest of their lives. The scene at the baseball diamond is Judge Reinhold's best moment. And by the way, that's Giovanni Rubisi as Wesley Parker, and his talent shows even at that young an age.

I hope this gem of a TV Movie will not be forgotten. It is great storytelling and gives "Docudrama" a good name.

I had never heard of this story until I watched this movie just about a year ago.. I HOPE that they were thrown in jail.. If they weren't, this justice system sucks... Just shows what a bunch of stupid bible-beating hillbillies some people are. It is a good movie, though.