Right to Believe

A shockingly poorly made film, it looks like it was shot in the early days of Youtube creators before they made decent cameras, the film is basically "Why can't I say the word f*g? I have a gay friend!"

The movie asks the simple question, "Should I do my job if I disagree with gay people being able to exist in groups?" It doesn't help that the lead actor looks like the guy in a gay pornography who swears it's his first time - and when you consider the relationship and looks of the wife, I'm fairly convinced his homophobia doth protest too much. As with most homophobes.

The film doesn't even argue well - with itself! The most redeeming character is the gay one, who gets the best arguments, but since the bigots have no real answers anymore other than "'cause Jesus," there's no actual debate.

The real question should be, "If I can't write an article that says, "The Gay Pride Parade will be here at this time," do I need to be a journalist?" He wasn't asked to write, "Here's why I must love gay people," although he whimpers and whines his way through the film like he was personally asked to engage in gay sex.

A poorly made film, poorly written, that can't even make it's own argument. What a shame these people don't have enough introspection to be ashamed to show themselves in public.

Set in the present day of 2014 Christian reporter Christopher Hunt as a punishment for upsetting powers that be gets a puff assignment that won't guarantee him a Pulitzer reporting on his city's first gay pride parade. That's the first thing I had a problem with in Right To Believe, the notion that even in 2014 I can't think of a large metropolitan area in the USA that does not have a Gay Pride event. Still that's our premise so Hunt meets with Timothy Paul Taylor the chief organizer.

It isn't long before his Christianity flares up and Hunt and Taylor are at it. But they decide to meet again to hash out their differences. What it comes down to is that Hunt kind of likes Taylor but that Creator/Deity says in the Bible that gay is no good and we have a perfect right to voice our opinions after all we love you and are just trying to save you from eternal damnation.

To prove that a distraught man with a gun walks into their cafe meeting place threatening to kill Taylor, after all his brother died of AIDS and we know gays are AIDS carriers. Good Christian that he is Hunt intervenes Jesus like and tells him to go and not to contemplate the sin of murder.

In this day and age having lost the debate on gay marriage, Fundamentalist Christianity has now taken to the parapets and now defend their right to speak out against sin as the Bible says it is. Now why the Creator/Deity of the entire vast universe is interested in the alternative sexual attractions of one of his creations on one dust speck in said universe has never been really answered. The book records He said it was it is wrong.

So it's not gays who died by the thousands because of an uncaring government, it's not gays who were maimed and killed by people raised in a culture to think that same sex attraction and acting thereon is worse than murder, no indeed. It's Fundamentalist Christians who are being ridiculed because the basic lunacy of their position, they are the true martyrs.

What this film does do is present in Hunt a 'true Christian'. When it's pointed out that a lot of terrible things have been done to individuals and cultures in the name of religion, this film and many a believer I've run into say that those who did these things aren't really Christians. That sweeps away a lot of indictable offenses by many people against any religion let alone Christianity. But Hunt is how these people see themselves or like to project themselves to the world.

As I write this review Fundamentalist Christianity is now falling all over themselves seeking to embrace a presidential candidate whose behavior one could never remotely describe as Christian. It's all about power, the power to foist your antiquated religion into the civil law, something that these people had for scores of years. It's about having the Attorney General on your speed dial. Whatever it is, Right To Believe is not about the right to believe.

It also though never quite coming out and saying so being able to cure a gay and set one on the path of heterosexuality. Tell that to the thousands of people who were told these same sex attractions were a curse, a burden to be borne, something that with prayer and all kinds of voodoo cures can be taken away. Hasn't worked, never has worked yet Fundamentalist Christians are fighting desperately to prevent laws from being enacted to stop these practices. They call it "the intimidate Christian counselors bills".

I think if this film had gotten any kind of mainstream viewing it would have been picketed. Let us hope it stays decently obscure.

Although the acting wasn't top notch this movie gabe some great points for both sides of a potentially volatile conversation. The gentleman that played Markus was fantastic. He did a great job of showing emotion while attempting to be reserved. I felt that some great points were made for the gay lifestyle as well as the Christian perspective. There could have been a few other points but great ones were touched on.

One man's fight to prevent men from walking around in groups -- so timely! Otherwise, it's hard to guess who this movie was made for. Maybe for people who have not met a gay person, to speak to, and written by people who have met one a couple times, and yet survived. However, several long, dull scenes turn on gay people being deeply impressed by what is written in the Bible, without seemingly being Christians. So, this is my best guess: if you're a gay evangelical who has never read the Bible, and doesn't know who people like Darwin and Kinsey are or what they did, this is your movie. Favourite character is the protagonist's wife, who kind of wants to stone the gays, but doesn't want anyone to say we should stone the gays.

It's the same stale brand of ignorant homophobic hate speech backed up by tired stereotypes and "facts" that were long ago proven false that Christians always use to recruit gullible bigots into their ranks. The filmmakers are clearly just trying (and failing) to validate their blind hatred and fear of the LGBTQ community. On top of its intolerance, it's also just plain BORING. You're essentially watching a man playing a game of chess, telling his opponent which moves to make, "expertly" countering those moves, and then thinking that means he "won." Do yourself and humanity a favor and skip this feature length, watered down for basic cable Westboro Baptist Church rant...