The Grace Card

Some will reject this movie from the offset because it is a Christian-themed movie, which is unfortunate. It portrays life as it really is, and the struggles we have with wrongs done to us in the past, and the profound moments of letting go, of grace and reconciliation and forgiveness.

Although we see God working through the hearts, actions, and circumstances of people, it is not one of those films that portrays this in a triumphal, miraculous, or unrealistic way.

It's the story of a Memphis cop, Bill "Mac" McDonald, who, 17 years prior, lost his 5-year-old son who was an innocent bystander when police were conducting a drug bust on their street. "Mac" turns inward and becomes very bitter, a racist and a perfectionist, straining relations with his wife and other son, and has an attitude problem which keeps him from getting promoted as a cop.

Seventeen years later, still deeply embittered and racist, Mac looses out on a promotion that goes to an African-American cop Sam Wright.

Sam has struggles of his own. He is a preacher in a small, somewhat declining Church of the Nazarene congregation that seems to be growing stagnant. Sam had hoped that God would bless his ministry and be able to commit full time to it, but in order to support his family, must remain on the Police force. He's a pretty good preacher, but God seems to be using him in even more effective ways on the Police force.

Sam Wright and Bill "Mac" McDonald (the racist, embittered cop) are temporarily placed together as partners on the police force.

Despite being emotionally with it, even Sam is deeply hurt by Mac's nonacceptance, unfriendliness, hurtful remarks and scowling hatred merely because Sam is a black man. As a result it hurts his ministry which wants him to preach forgiveness and reconciliation.

Without giving away too much, it is Sam's grandfather (played by Louis Gossett Jr.) who helps Sam deal with his feelings, and produces a short letter from his grandfather the 1880s that becomes the miraculous premise for helping Sam overcome his hurt.

A NEW tragedy in Mac McDonald's family brings Sam and Mac closer together in Mac's hour of desperate, prayer-fraught need.

Yes, there is a surprise twist or two in the plot.

It should be noted that this movie is the work of a first-time director David G. Evans and scores of first-time actors, sponsored mainly by one church (Calvary Church of the Nazarene, Memphis). Even so, the results are remarkably good. The actors, the police force -- all seem like down to earth, ordinary people pulled together by miraculous circumstances, and a few surprise twists. We see God working profoundly through hearts and circumstances rather than divine intervention and miracles. Only a couple of actors are less than professional and their lines or scenes are short, unobtrusive. Louis Gossett fits in well with his stellar performance.

The film also has great shots of Memphis, portraying the city as it really is -- many of the familiar but less known streets and intersections.

Don't expect a high-tech thriller. But this is a realistic, down-to-earth slice of life film with a powerful Christian theme of Grace and reconciliation.

A religious film. A Christian one. Nice, useful, touching, moving. Like many others. This is the first impression. And it is right and fair. But the film gives more than a moral lesson. Or a preach. It is a film about sufferance - a profound one - and about family. It is a film about the meanings of life. And about chances. About faith and hate and hope and angry. Sure, predictable in many moments and scenes. And too pink in others. For me, I admite, one of good points remains the performance of Louis Gosset jr. in a role who gives to him doing a special , seductive chatacter. Short, an interestong film.

It was better than I thought. Whenever I want to watch a movie I always check with IMDb before I watch it because 98% of the time they are right. In this case they were wrong. IMDb gave this movie 4.6 out of 10 stars. I gave it 7 stars. As a Christian I thought the message in this movie was very powerful, for anyone. If you're a person who cries at tear jerker movies, this one just might make you cry. I recommend this movie to everyone. The acting in this movie, except for Louis Gossett Jr, was kind of amateur, but that didn't hurt this film. This would definitely be a good movie for the whole family to sit around and see on a nice quiet evening. This movie is a must see. Now it's rare that my wife and I agree on what's a good movie and what isn't a good movie, but we both agreed that this one was good.

I knew nothing about the movie before seeing it, except I heard a brief rave on Christian radio so I was inclined to go. Even though I am giving this film a 6 out of 10, I was touched and moved by several scenes. The low score is due to the heavy handed feel of the film, and the choppy editing that made the acting seem worse than it was. My wife thought the acting was amateurish, but I think bad directing, editing and camera work made their acting seem worse than it was.

Michael Joiner's character, Bill McDonald, was unrealistically morose. He blames himself for the death of his first child and resents the second child who lives 17 years later. I blame the director for the character' unrealistic grief. I think it would have been more realistic if he tried to put on a normal demeanor, kidding around and striving to be professional with bursts of behavior that would betray the underlying grief and anger that he carried around.

Another example of directing that should have changed regards the son Blake (played by Robert Erikson) after the counselor (who is a Christian) suggests the son try to reach out to the hurting father. For the amount of conflict that had already been established between father and son, I felt the portrayal of the boy's effort to be nice was too sunny and cheerful. The director should have had more struggle on the son's part to be nice for it to be believable.

As for Bill McDonald's recently assigned partner, Sam Wright (played by Michael Higgenbottom), who also was a black pastor promoted as a police Sargent, I thought the Christian family portrayed was too happy and loving. It was almost stereotypical of Christians. Particularly concerning Sam's regard for his missing father. It was like the missing father was only written into the story to be a touchstone of sympathy for Sam's character when he talked to Bill. Otherwise it was a meaningless element of the story that should have been built up to give more realistic depth to Sam's character and family.

Nevertheless, the film had an edifying message, so I don't regret seeing the movie.

I came across this movie quite by accident, or maybe divine intervention. I say that because this movie come to me at a time where it 's message helped me. This movie may suffer in ratings as mainstream people tend to shy away from 'religious movies' as they're called. This movie does not preach. Instead it uses a good storyline to teach a valuable lesson. Mainly we learn to put things in context, and that many people out there who are mean, or horrible to others are themselves hurt. The walking wounded who become bitter and set on a path of destruction. If we can see the other person's hurt, we can understand where they are coming from and possibly meet them half way. Instead of hating them, we need to love them. The movie itself tells of the strained family relations after a devastating accident, how the even changes the family members individually and how one person't faith can indeed make a difference. It's a story about grief, growth, healing, family, and salvation. There is one part of the movie that warrants being written down and remembered; I know I did that! I am very thankful for this movie and think that like minded and open minded people will enjoy it. Happy viewing.