Come Sunday

I watched "Come Sunday" in an irreverent mood while downing vodka martinis and exchanging acerbic comments with my fellow cinema club friends about the hypocritical nature of religion. Chiwetel Ejiofor's courageous and contemplative portrayal of Pentecostal Bishop Carlton Pearson's revelation that hell does not exist is hopeful. What is lacking is the fervor and ecstasy of the Pentecostal church due to the film's mostly subdued congregation and restrained sequences of praise and worship. Compared to the Pentecostal church I grew up in, Pearson's Higher Dimensions church in "Come Sunday" felt lukewarm even after Ejiofor's fiery sermons and musical accompaniment by church organist Reggie (Lakeith Stanfield).

After watching "Come Sunday" I walked into the kitchen of my friend who was hosting our cinema club. I noticed a card tucked neatly into a frame hanging on her wall with a quote from Chief Joseph on it: "We do not want churches because they will teach us to quarrel about God." That quote along with the message of "Come Sunday" was just as sobering as the cup of coffee that, by that time, I was holding in my hand.

Well acted, well paced biopic, good music. What happens when an established pastor's thinking takes a radical turn? Balanced portrayal of sincere religious people grappling with different interpretations of what defines faith.

Many people seem to rate this movie poorly because they disagree with Carlton's position and doctrine. That really has nothing to do with it.

It's a good movie, well acted, and enjoyed.

This is a biopic film that tells the story of a Pentecostal preacher who came to the conclusion that all humans and their sins are atoned for by the Cross of Christ, regardless of whether one has a relationship with Christ or not.

The film displays good acting and production value, but the script only skims the surface of the internal and intellectual shift Pearson embraced that took him into heresy and heterodoxy. As a Pentecostal and Evangelical, he believed in Calvin's doctrines of Total Depravity and Penal Substitution Atonement. Pearson finally admitted these doctrines make God look like a monster and threw them out. He reached for an extravagant love beyond what humans are capable of and concluded that God loves the world so much that he would not send people to hell, having previously concluded that God does send people to hell - as Pearson is depicted in this film, if not in reality. However, he consulted on the film.

Pearson and his detractors also assume to have the authority to interpret Scripture and are obsessed with "knowing" whether every person goes to heaven or hell after death. These assumptions go unchallenged in the script, but along with Calvanist doctrines are the underlying causes of the whole story.

The film is thought-provoking and worth watching. It displays the biggest problems with Protestant fundamentalism from the inside, but could have done so much better.

'COME SUNDAY': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

A drama about Bishop Carlton Pearson, who was ostracized by his own church for preaching the belief that there is no Hell. The film was directed by Joshua Marston, and it was written by Marcus Hinchey. It stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jason Segel, Lakeith Stanfield, Condola Rashad, Martin Sheen and Danny Glover. The movie has received mostly negative reviews from critics, and it was released by Netflix through it's streaming site. I found it to be really good in many ways, but it's still missing something.

Ejiofor stars as Bishop Carlton Pearson, who was at one time very popular with evangelicals. Then one day he started preaching that there might not be a Hell, and everyone might be 'saved' by God, despite their religious beliefs. He was then ostracized by his own church, and rejected by many of his closest friends and family. This movie tells his story, and it's based on an episode of the public radio series 'This American Life'.

I love the message of this film; about rebelling against authority, and what's accepted as normal, to always support what's right. It's also of course about inclusion, and challenging traditionalism and religion so that no one is ever left out, or oppressed, even if it means you yourself will be ostracized. You can't beat the message of this movie, and it's nicely shot and directed, plus Ejiofor is fantastic in the lead. Still, even with all of it's strengths, the film seems to be lacking something. It just doesn't quite live up to all of it's great potential, but it's still definitely worth seeing.