LIKES:
The Setting: I know, this is the category that is either a cop out or not important to most, but for me plays a key role in getting you into the world. Redeeming Love has a lot of pressure on the setting and career the main character "Angel" is in, and to my surprise, this movie accomplishes you going back in time to the great gold rush hour. The town, buildings, and frontier have the air of grit and struggle the West once was, and it helps to give you the horror and desperation that these characters were in. Even the costumes were integrated well to go with the times, and adds that wholesome and conservative look that frontier shows like Little House on the Prairie and The Walton's did so well.
The Story: I have not read the books, but from the trailers Redeeming Love is a large part a love story, but also one part religious, and one part drama that were rolled together quite well. The movie is adequately divided into acts that adjust the ratio of those components well, helping to build into the love story that may have many people rolling their eyes. It's a sincere movie that avoids the gimmicks and tropes rom-coms exploit, and adds a touch of the sincerity/hero complex that Nicholas Sparks books used. The balance made for better characters that were more relevant to follow and invest in, compared to those in other dramas.
The Morals: It's a deeper movie that once again ties the love story with some deeper lessons about humans dealing with hurt, pain, and the origins that can be darker. Despite the new age lessons that fill social media, the lessons in Redeeming Love seem more applicable and realistic to constructive healing and how many times one struggles. The characters are not perfect, they stumble and fall, dealing with their demons and diving back into the comfort. Yet the movie does a nice job of showing the healing process and how to become better people of it. It really showed the promise and the religious background well, and the realistic portrayal of this journey was a nice touch.
The Dive Into the Character Psyche Presentation: Redeeming Love executes the dive into the main character's past quite well, using flashbacks, but timing it well in the movie to make it the most relevant. The scenes are not just simple glimpses, but rather contained substories that give you the horror of her life, but are not too long to detract from the story too much. With this timing, combined with the importance of these scenes, this back and forth dive did well for me and really enjoyed the gradual build up to the woman Angel would become.
The Acting To Some Degree: Redeeming Love has some very good acting at times again hitting those realistic portrayals to the T and giving me an engaging character. Janssen was fine, though a bit underutilized for the role I anticipated her having, hitting the same strong woman she always plays, but with a slightly darker tide. Lewis was my favorite character and did well to fill the preaching and caring role a bit to death, but really hits the earnest and heroic well in better balance. His talent as a farmer looking to pursue dreams, be optimistic, and help others is great, but he does not take it to perfect hero quality, but rather a balanced quality that again did not go to cheesy annoying levels. As for the lead by Cowen, I really enjoyed much of what she portrayed in this film. The tough scenes involving hard to watch moments she executed with class and poise, or as much as you can, and then the repercussions that came with it were strong and again very realistic. Her evolution was wonderful as the movie went on, and seeing all the finesse she brought to the screen, covering a broad emotional spectrum and not getting too lost in the extremes. I really enjoyed the chemistry she had with so many people and characters, and how well she managed to bounce off of them.
DISLIKES:
Predictable: Not reading the book, it was pretty obvious where the movie was going and the heavy foreshadowing that the dialogue laid out our feet. The surprises were low key, the lack of twists very poor, and any diversions from the story a bit meh for an audience member like me. Others who like the linear tale of love and redemption will have no problem, but if you want a little zest in your drama, don't hold your breath.
Character Usage I don't know how accurate it is to the book, but I can't say that all the characters were used well for me in this movie or at least needed some more time to justify their inclusion. As mentioned above Janssen's character had a lot of bark, but the bite I expected was shallow and forgotten after the first act and for someone of such prowess in her life, she was out pretty quickly in the film. Angel's other friends who were prominent and seemed to form a sisterhood, had a similar limitation despite again the potential that could have formed with the group. Even the villains and antagonistic moments could have used a little heat to them, a little more on screen time among other things to help stir the pot a little more than was present. Even some of the new people to join the crowd seemed in the background, and perhaps cuts diluted the characters into the limited spectacles of the film.
A Little Too Over forced Religion For a Movie Preachy moments can be done well when in balanced and timed right, but when done too much, they sometimes lose their significance and full impact. Redeeming Love had those moments where the main character did something stupid again and called for a montage or over focused moment using the word of the Lord. The church like sermons did speak true to me, but the repetition and sort of haphazard use got a bit stale for me as the movie progressed when other tactics could have been used.
The Climactic Fights Some reviewers have found the climactic moments exciting and a true spectacle, however for me these were pointless and very choreographed. The planning was simple, feeling like a 50s western without the guns, and found the props of the firearms laughable given the little use we saw. The one fight scene we really got was limited and not needed, and I'm happy the action genre was not bestowed on this movie.
The Dialogue Love stories seem to be all about the cheese factor for getting the point across. Redeeming Love falls into the territory of using some traditional strategies for selling the love, sometimes going a bit too into the Hollywood script to convey how much the two are in love. While often sweet, the movie could have pulled some magic to spice up the dialogue, or keep to the chemistry we had in the start of the movie where Angel was toying with Michael's proposals. Stuff like that is more fun for me, and if they had been able to minimize a little more on the mushy proposals and gushing use of the word love, it could have come across a little more solid.
The VERDICT: Redeeming Love is an enjoyable and deeper romance movie that balances drama, love, and morals to a surprisingly fun level. The Western biopic history is a nice break from reality, and revisiting the frontier of our country's history was a nice change to the modern trends we get. Surprisingly, most of the characters manage to avoid the typical love stereotype, and I liked the realism they held in trying to solve the problems plaguing them. That vulnerability and balance made them a more realistic and interesting investment and helped get rid of the perfect sheen this movie genre exploited for long ago. And the acting was very enjoyable and worthy of the praise other reviewers have given as they made the emotions and hurt come to life despite the wide range they would have to cover. Yet, the movie's plot is predictable, and a little boring in terms of the exciting climaxes they could have tried to bring in. Characters are not the best used outside of three or four, and the religion and dialogue sadly dive into cheesy levels that get stale and old when they try to force it too much. Still, the movie does feel like an adaptation of a book and I must give it applause for accomplishing the goals set out by the trailer and from audience members following deeply with the book. Given this my scores for the movie are:
Drama/Biopic/Romance: 7.5 Movie Overall: 7.0.
The Setting: I know, this is the category that is either a cop out or not important to most, but for me plays a key role in getting you into the world. Redeeming Love has a lot of pressure on the setting and career the main character "Angel" is in, and to my surprise, this movie accomplishes you going back in time to the great gold rush hour. The town, buildings, and frontier have the air of grit and struggle the West once was, and it helps to give you the horror and desperation that these characters were in. Even the costumes were integrated well to go with the times, and adds that wholesome and conservative look that frontier shows like Little House on the Prairie and The Walton's did so well.
The Story: I have not read the books, but from the trailers Redeeming Love is a large part a love story, but also one part religious, and one part drama that were rolled together quite well. The movie is adequately divided into acts that adjust the ratio of those components well, helping to build into the love story that may have many people rolling their eyes. It's a sincere movie that avoids the gimmicks and tropes rom-coms exploit, and adds a touch of the sincerity/hero complex that Nicholas Sparks books used. The balance made for better characters that were more relevant to follow and invest in, compared to those in other dramas.
The Morals: It's a deeper movie that once again ties the love story with some deeper lessons about humans dealing with hurt, pain, and the origins that can be darker. Despite the new age lessons that fill social media, the lessons in Redeeming Love seem more applicable and realistic to constructive healing and how many times one struggles. The characters are not perfect, they stumble and fall, dealing with their demons and diving back into the comfort. Yet the movie does a nice job of showing the healing process and how to become better people of it. It really showed the promise and the religious background well, and the realistic portrayal of this journey was a nice touch.
The Dive Into the Character Psyche Presentation: Redeeming Love executes the dive into the main character's past quite well, using flashbacks, but timing it well in the movie to make it the most relevant. The scenes are not just simple glimpses, but rather contained substories that give you the horror of her life, but are not too long to detract from the story too much. With this timing, combined with the importance of these scenes, this back and forth dive did well for me and really enjoyed the gradual build up to the woman Angel would become.
The Acting To Some Degree: Redeeming Love has some very good acting at times again hitting those realistic portrayals to the T and giving me an engaging character. Janssen was fine, though a bit underutilized for the role I anticipated her having, hitting the same strong woman she always plays, but with a slightly darker tide. Lewis was my favorite character and did well to fill the preaching and caring role a bit to death, but really hits the earnest and heroic well in better balance. His talent as a farmer looking to pursue dreams, be optimistic, and help others is great, but he does not take it to perfect hero quality, but rather a balanced quality that again did not go to cheesy annoying levels. As for the lead by Cowen, I really enjoyed much of what she portrayed in this film. The tough scenes involving hard to watch moments she executed with class and poise, or as much as you can, and then the repercussions that came with it were strong and again very realistic. Her evolution was wonderful as the movie went on, and seeing all the finesse she brought to the screen, covering a broad emotional spectrum and not getting too lost in the extremes. I really enjoyed the chemistry she had with so many people and characters, and how well she managed to bounce off of them.
DISLIKES:
Predictable: Not reading the book, it was pretty obvious where the movie was going and the heavy foreshadowing that the dialogue laid out our feet. The surprises were low key, the lack of twists very poor, and any diversions from the story a bit meh for an audience member like me. Others who like the linear tale of love and redemption will have no problem, but if you want a little zest in your drama, don't hold your breath.
Character Usage I don't know how accurate it is to the book, but I can't say that all the characters were used well for me in this movie or at least needed some more time to justify their inclusion. As mentioned above Janssen's character had a lot of bark, but the bite I expected was shallow and forgotten after the first act and for someone of such prowess in her life, she was out pretty quickly in the film. Angel's other friends who were prominent and seemed to form a sisterhood, had a similar limitation despite again the potential that could have formed with the group. Even the villains and antagonistic moments could have used a little heat to them, a little more on screen time among other things to help stir the pot a little more than was present. Even some of the new people to join the crowd seemed in the background, and perhaps cuts diluted the characters into the limited spectacles of the film.
A Little Too Over forced Religion For a Movie Preachy moments can be done well when in balanced and timed right, but when done too much, they sometimes lose their significance and full impact. Redeeming Love had those moments where the main character did something stupid again and called for a montage or over focused moment using the word of the Lord. The church like sermons did speak true to me, but the repetition and sort of haphazard use got a bit stale for me as the movie progressed when other tactics could have been used.
The Climactic Fights Some reviewers have found the climactic moments exciting and a true spectacle, however for me these were pointless and very choreographed. The planning was simple, feeling like a 50s western without the guns, and found the props of the firearms laughable given the little use we saw. The one fight scene we really got was limited and not needed, and I'm happy the action genre was not bestowed on this movie.
The Dialogue Love stories seem to be all about the cheese factor for getting the point across. Redeeming Love falls into the territory of using some traditional strategies for selling the love, sometimes going a bit too into the Hollywood script to convey how much the two are in love. While often sweet, the movie could have pulled some magic to spice up the dialogue, or keep to the chemistry we had in the start of the movie where Angel was toying with Michael's proposals. Stuff like that is more fun for me, and if they had been able to minimize a little more on the mushy proposals and gushing use of the word love, it could have come across a little more solid.
The VERDICT: Redeeming Love is an enjoyable and deeper romance movie that balances drama, love, and morals to a surprisingly fun level. The Western biopic history is a nice break from reality, and revisiting the frontier of our country's history was a nice change to the modern trends we get. Surprisingly, most of the characters manage to avoid the typical love stereotype, and I liked the realism they held in trying to solve the problems plaguing them. That vulnerability and balance made them a more realistic and interesting investment and helped get rid of the perfect sheen this movie genre exploited for long ago. And the acting was very enjoyable and worthy of the praise other reviewers have given as they made the emotions and hurt come to life despite the wide range they would have to cover. Yet, the movie's plot is predictable, and a little boring in terms of the exciting climaxes they could have tried to bring in. Characters are not the best used outside of three or four, and the religion and dialogue sadly dive into cheesy levels that get stale and old when they try to force it too much. Still, the movie does feel like an adaptation of a book and I must give it applause for accomplishing the goals set out by the trailer and from audience members following deeply with the book. Given this my scores for the movie are:
Drama/Biopic/Romance: 7.5 Movie Overall: 7.0.