Aimee Semple McPherson

I saw this movie, with a friend and a film writer. The content was misleading at best. The film quality and directing was amateurish. His camera actually moved from person to person, without cuts. I got dizzy just watching. I, with no film experience, know better than that.

My film writer friend thought his work was so amateurish that she was embarrassed for Rossi. My other friend who has written and done stage work herself, was literally sickened by his misportrayal of Aimee Semple McPherson's life.

His intended premise is misguided and never proved. The movie never gave "insight" to anything but gross exaggeration and erroneous information. There is nothing to indicate why she was such a phenomenon. There is never a crowd -- no attempt to give any kind of context to her world-wide appeal or her national "celebrity" status.

Seeing this movie you would think all she did in life was marry three times, in a very short span of time, and fought with her mother. And that really is the just of the movie in a nutshell. And very poorly done at that. Now I've just saved you 2 1/2 hours of watching a boring movie.

One thing I notice, that has not been mentioned in other reviews, is that the film shows how we all have human and sexual needs, no matter how spiritual or holy we may be. Aimee leaves her husband to follow God's will, but later discovers "God is there spiritually, but He is not there physically." Richard Rossi's character provides the "smell of a real man," and she needs filled up by the fun and frolic he provides.

Overall, the story kept my interest the whole time. There were some reminders the film was done on a small budget, such as the lack of big crowd scenes or extras, and scenes that stay in a two-shot off one camera, rather than cutting to other takes or angles. But Rossi did walk away from a lot of money that would have compromised his vision as a writer, so there is an artistic purity here of an auteur. All the husbands were great. Chad Nadolski, Charles Hoyes, and Richard Rossi. I read an interview in Filmworks magazine where Rossi said the three husbands are the three sides of our nature: spirit or superego (Chad Nadolski as Robert Semple), the mind or ego (Charles Hoyes as Harold McPherson), and the id or impulsive sensual desires (Richard Rossi as David Hutton.)

Saw at recent private industry screening of a long three hour rough cut in which a disparate mixture of evangelical Christians, cult film fanatics who think Rossi is a genius, teenagers, and 9 to 5 salt of the earth suburbanites gathered. Director Richard Rossi wanted audience feedback to assist him in trimming an hour out of the film. I must say, I was spellbound for three hours by Rossi's incredible direction and innovative visual eye, and Mimi Michaels acting as Aimee will be critically acclaimed. Rance Howard and Mimi Michaels had a great chemistry as father/daughter and Rance Howard's acting stood out, (it's obvious how his famous son Ron genetically was born for talent) he was perfect casting for the farmer with common sense and a connection to his gifted daughter. All I can say, is I believed, I bought it all. Mimi Michaels was so spot on I almost could not distinguish between her voice and Aimee McPherson's historical voice. Rossi's compassion for her as a healer who could not heal herself, and his understanding of women and their core emotional vulnerability is deeply moving. The end, Aimee's confession of her own loneliness, that only God can be her husband, and the way it ends, it had the room crying. It is masterful, and this is not an exaggeration. The timing of this, after the release of "The Passion" is perfect.

I have not seen this movie, and I would like to know where I can. The comments were very interesting, but I'm unable to evaluate it myself. I have read about her: the good and the bad, the truth and fiction, but I was fortunate to have heard and listened to her illustrated sermons at Angelus Temple, and sometimes had her as an instructor, while attending L.I.F.E. Bible College in Los Angeles. She was an inspiration to me and thousands of others. I remember in the early forties, when she had been absent from the pulpit due to a tropical disease she had contacted. I was seated in the balcony, when she entered and stood, before making her presence known. She appeared pale and held on to the back of a chair, but when the music began and she walked down the ramp to the platform, she seemed revived, as everyone stood and clapped, greeting the return of their Sister. As a human being, she may have made some mistakes, but the good she did far outweighs anything else. The success of the Foursquare organization today are the results of a farm girl from Canada, who dedicated her life to the Lord. I hope the film portrays the Aimee Semple McPherson I knew.

Dreadfully bad, the acting is so poor it draws attention to what is going on in the film, not that it matters. The quality of the film is grainy and at times blurry. Didn't anyone making the film know how to focus the camera?! It is very amateurishly done. It is clearly evident director Richard Rossi has no idea how to make a film. The camera work seems like it was done by a child, the script is laughable bad. This certainly has to rank among the worst film of the 2000's. The lack of effort to capture the time period - the early 1900's is painfully obvious. This would be an excellent example for a film class and how NOT to make a film.