Choosing Matthias

Caught this on cable because I always enjoy Jeff Fahey, and I'm here to report he's very good, as always - his pain at losing his son and his frustration in trying to communicate with his grief-stricken wife rings true, it's a deeply heartfelt performance. The film, however, leaves a lot to be desired. The script is heavy-handed and clumsy, and the director and female lead, Caia Coley, heaps one over-wrought scene on top of another, which is a shame because, along with Fahey, the person who plays Matthias, Dylan Kasch, is very charming and believable, and Bo Hopkins is also fine in his part.

When you're dealing with such an unoriginal plot, the only way to make it work is to approach it in a unique way; this is not the case here by any stretch.

My IMDb rating: 4

"Choosing Matthias" is possibly the most cliché-ridden movie ever made, featuring a groan worthy, over-the-top performance by Caia Coley. Ms. Coley's directing is just as bad as her acting; she takes on both duties in this production, and fails at each.

Charlie and Maggie are a married couple touched by tragedy when their young son is kidnapped and killed in the big city. The requisite marital problems, rage, and god-questioning ensue, and the following ninety-odd minutes take us from one canned scene to the next. The ending is as maudlin as it is predictable, complete with an almost-literal cliff-hanger "climax".

Predictability is always a problem with movies like this one, but "Choosing Matthias" makes it all too easy for us to guess where things are going, even when much-needed exposition is missing from the first half of the movie. Every stock character makes an appearance: the wise-cracking delivery guy; the empathetic friends; the kindly old man; the concerned social worker with the permanently furrowed brow; the all-merciful deity.

It suffers not merely from atrocious acting, eye-rolling dialog, and a stale Christian "trials of Job" undercurrent, but from amateurish technical issues. There's a weird sound problem in a couple of scenes that makes some off-camera characters sound like they're talking into an empty Kleenex box. To extend the drama of several scenes, or perhaps due to a lazy (or broke) director who chose not to re-shoot, the frame rate is noticeably slowed, sometimes immediately before dialog.

Wow, this is one bad movie.

Interestingly, I happened on this film thinking it would be just another strain of the same old story: parents need child, child needs parents, the cosmos brings them together, happy ending. However, this film had something in the mix that is missing from a lot of others of this genre: heart. It has a lot of heart. The story was written in a way that would give the viewer the chance to really experience the sheer pain of losing a child, and the director was successful in communicating this without soliciting my sympathy, but rather enabling my empathy. And talent: Jeff Fahey -- riveting as the husband losing ground in life; Caia Coley -- director and lead -- was stunning as the self-absorbed wife and mother who suffered greatly at the loss of her son, but had an epiphany that changed her life forever. A tender piece with a lot of heart. Watch this movie!

Choosing Matthias is one of those rare, moving reality films that grips your heart and reminds you that hope is something you should never let go of. Very fine solid performances by Caia Coley and Jeff Fahey in a family-oriented movie about a married couple dealing with the pain of losing their young son. Some years later they are presented with the opportunity to bring a young homeless boy into their home but Maggie is so torn apart with her own loss she feels she doesn't have the heart to love again. It isn't until the near-end of the movie that she finally realizes how much they really need each other.

A very touching, wholesome movie reinforcing that one should never give up hope and how our Creator works in wonderful ways to heal pain and broken hearts.