The Redemption

A couple of months ago I saw the premiere of the Redemption here in Bloomington Indiana and I left the theater wanting. The story is nothing new, a homeless man (played by local Steve Withem, who also wrote the screenplay) embarks on an adventure from the word of a priest to prove his character by donating the guaranteed winnings of a lottery ticket to a local charity. Of course this brings him into contact with an embarrassing collection of characters who are cut and then pasted from other, and more successful screenplays. But it takes another turn for the worst, with the addition of the criminal element, a robber, who somehow knows Withem has the ticket (good memory!) and sets off to retrieve it. The laughably upbeat ending leaves everyone smiling but the audience, who knows it takes more than dedication to make a good movie it takes talent and originality (Steve Withem who has no background in film saw a movie in the theater and thought, gee I could make one of those, but fails). Bad acting, poor characters, and a flawed screenplay prohibited this movie from achieving anything worthwhile.

I saw the premiere in Bloomington and I thought this was an excellent movie. Sure, it didn't have superb actors in it, but hey, it didn't have a huge budget. I thought it was a good story and a very good job was done with limited resources. I recommend this movie to everyone.

It is hard to say why I liked this movie so much - was it because it is always nice to recognize the places you see in a movie? Maybe, but there was certainly more to it. When I walked out after the movie I was positively surprised how good it was, especially for an amateur (in the best sense of the word!) movie - most of the main actors were never in any other movie. It simply left me with that good, warm, fuzzy feeling in my stomach, even though I normally dislike cheesy movies. I guess its innocence and the plain way of telling the story, without trying to make it seem than it is, gave it the quality that makes seeing it definitely a worthwhile experience. No, it will not sweep you off your feet with action, romance, and suspense (although it has some of these elements, too), but it is genuine and honest (I wish more movies were like that) and the warm, fuzzy feeling is definitely worth your time, so go see it, if you happen to get the chance. Thanks to Steve Withem for fulfilling his dream of making a movie and sharing the result with us.