States of Grace

I must confess I rolled my eyes when I heard this movie was being made. If it were not for the unanimous critical acclaim, from the few who have reviewed it, I would not have seen it. I also must admit there were a couple awkward but forgivable dialogue moments. But by the end of the film, I was stunned. I felt more moved by this film than any other I have seen in years, perhaps ever.

I imagine some will unfairly and erroneously think Dutcher was trying to justify sin and never get passed that criticism. But that's not the message. The message is that it doesn't matter who we are or how serious our sins are, it is never too late to find hope in Christ. That message could not have been conveyed if the worst sin the film addressed was someone shoplifting or breaking a minor mission rule. It had to address serious sins to show the reach and power of the atonement. This movie is not only the best Dutcher film, nor is it just the best LDS genre film, it is one of the best movies of any kind I have ever seen.

Just got back from "States of Grace." Truly an amazing film. It was not what I expected. Much less "Mormon" than "God's Army" in some ways. I was moved. Dutcher, in a way that reminded me of the evocative Sacrament scene in "Brigham City," ended this film with a very moving, personal experience shared by all the main characters in the film, which ingeniously had a powerful-yet-different meaning for each of them.

I was surprised at how long it was - just over 2 hours. If you're going to see a feel-good fluffy movie, this is not the one. It is PG-13 for good reason. Very faith promoting, but not "sweet." It is difficult to evaluate such a film for technical aspects; there were too many overwhelming moments in the film that skilfully drew me in.

One last observation: the film is excellently Christ-centered. Dutcher beautifully weaves a coherent fabric of the love of Jesus for all people out of disparate strands. At times I almost didn't want to see how a scene would end, because of the heaviness, but in the end it was all worth it. Mixing typical Mormon symbols and sentiments and typical Christian symbols and sentiments, the feel at the end ameliorates much of the pain displayed in the movie, and demonstrates how hope can prevail.

This film is the third "Mormon Cinema" film from writer/director Richard Dutcher. It presents a similar setting as his first film "God's Army" in that the main characters portrayed are Mormon Missionaries and their unique experiences in the real world. In fact in the predominantly Mormon communities in Utah this is being billed as a Sequel "God's Army 2: States of Grace" whereas it is assumed that outside of Utah it will be billed as simply "States of Grace". States of Grace is more appropriate however as this new film isn't a continuation of the last nor are any of the characters from the first represented (with one minor exception of the "Mission President"). As with prior Dutcher films, this one weaves into it believable, real life characters, believable faith, and a realistic gritty world setting. The theme of this film is represented in it's title "States of Grace" and deals primarily with real life redemption. We have the Missionary who is about to go home who has a closed book past, but carries the literal scars that hint to his background. We have his companion who is neither over the top good or rebellious bad, but just a generally believable regular missionary. You have their neighbor who is a good person has hidden her spiritual scars where no one can see them. You have the homeless street preacher whose at first seems to be just another crazy rambling loon, but has made bad decisions to get to the point he is. And you have the gang member whose past is not as important as his future and his decisions about the path going forward.

The film covers a little over a couple of weeks (three, almost four perhaps) and the events that bring them together. Some events are jarring, others are more subtle. But the lives of these individuals become intertwined with real life reactions.

There are no miracles or lights from the skies. No angels or demons. The Goodness portrayed in the film is very real and true. The Evil portrayed is very real and true. What happens to each of the characters and how they respond is very natural. I don't think it would be very easy for someone to watch this film and say "that's not true" or "that would never happen". The stories portrayed do and have happened.

The film is good. It is well done and the stories are well told and acted out.

That being said, the film suffers from the expected. It was done on a very shoestring budget and the creative control and external influences on the making of the film appear very centralized around Dutcher. There were some scenes that should have been cut entirely because they were duplicate of others or they spelled out plot direction that wasn't really in question (a little too "on the nose"). Also the dialogue, although being very natural, was sometimes TOO natural to the point were it could have used some "spicing up" at the writing level or some "creative editing" in the cutting room to liven them up. It seems like everyone in this film is a "listener" to everything anyone says that they are around. I don't think any dialogue ever overlapped or was cut short.

The film could have lost 10 to 15 minutes and it would have helped, rather than hurt it.

In classic Dutcher form the film evokes a deep emotional response at the end and does so pretty successfully without feeling too contrived or forced. It's not a happy ending, and it's not a sad ending. The ending as always is LIFE with a glimmer of hope that things can get better.

For the non-Mormon viewing audience, you should have no problems seeing this film. It's as "faith promoting" as the Thorn Birds is to Catholicism. That's not the films intent and there is no preaching as the "save all" of Mormon values or faith. It really is a good film about real characters and the Mormons could easily be of any faith as archetypes.

For the Mormon viewing audience, if you want any portrayal of the church you view to be a mirror image of those produced by the church, then you may have problems with this this film. But be assured the problem is not with the film, but with your belief on what all portrayals of Mormons should be. This film attempts to portray Mormon's in Real Life with the real challenges that exist. If you had problems with Brigham City because of it's positive AND negative portrayals of Mormons, then you will most likely have problems with "States of Grace" as well. You're better off sticking with the "I'll Build You a Rainbow" filmstrip.

My hat goes off to Richard Dutcher however as he has tried and succeeded to create an entertaining film that is true to life and itself.

There's much worse out there to waste your $5 off of than on this film.

I have become a big Richard Dutcher fan. I always spend several days after seeing his movies thinking about the implications. States of Grace is by far his best offering. I think I liked it so well because it tells an LDS story that is not only realistic but can hold meaning for anyone of faith. It is very well crafted and the cinematography is just beautiful. The acting ranges from good to extremely good and as always in a Richard Dutcher movie the symbolism is deep.

My wife liked this movie so much because she felt that it told the truth. Bad things happen in the lives of good people everyday and Dutcher does a phenomenal job of looking at what that life can become when viewed through a spiritual filter. Something that would have little significance for one person may be a profound life changing event for another. This film demonstrates that and shows how all lives can be touched by the atonement of Jesus Christ. I never thought that I would see a movie that could tell such a gritty and true story and yet communicate so powerfully the universality of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is a great movie for Mormons but I can easily see why non LDS people would have trouble getting by the depiction of Mormon culture....too bad, I think anyone of faith could be uplifted by the message of this film.

Let's start from the end - it was a good movie. At some point I thought it was heading to a "requiem for a dream" ending but something went wrong. Was it the weird final scene? Was it the lack of music? Was it the unbelievable characters? I don't know, still, as a non-Christian I found this movie to be good though my girlfriend that watched the movie with me said it was one of the worst films she have seen... I asked her why but she couldn't explain, she said "too much dialog, not enough action", and when a girl is saying that - you can guess what that means... So, going back to the beginning - it was a good movie but it could be an excellent one!