It’s been a rough year for Todd Burpo (Greg Kinnear, Little Miss Sunshine). A local pastor, volunteer firefighter, high school wrestling coach, garage door repairman, and all around Steve Rogers of his community is busy recovering from his own health issues when Colton (Connor Corum), his son, suffers a ruptured appendix. Todd and his wife, Sonja (Kelly Reilly, Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows, Flight) quickly call their friends to prayer as it looks like Colton won’t make it through surgery.
Colton pulls through, but the real complications start as Colton’s insistence that he journeyed to heaven during his operation challenges the faith of his father, his church, and his community.
“Heaven is for Real” is based off the New York Times bestseller of the same name written by real-life Todd Burpo about the near-death experience of his 4-year-old son. “Heaven is For Real” — opening with a title card saying it’s “based on a true story” — might have a hard time establishing a typical, mainstream audience, but it doesn’t seem too concerned with that.
It’s not geared toward hard-boiled city-types who aren’t interested in dabbling with heaven and the G-man. It’s centered on a devoutly Christian family and community, and will likely speak best to those who identify as such.
In terms of small-town Americana blurring the line between the known and unknown, the movie’s style falls somewhere between “Field of Dreams” and “The Sixth Sense.” For those who have had a crisis of their faith — or maybe even just a sense of faith at all — the movie will come off as an earnest and profound discussion of the afterlife. “Heaven is for Real” is at its best when it sensitively examines a devout community struggling to grapple with the unknowable.
But for those who don’t partake in Bible teachings, it may come off as a preachy, oddly-paced memoir adaptation. It’s not marketed toward those who are devout in their nonbelief. Sections of Burpo’s life that may play well in a novel end up muddling the overall arc of the plot, which is steadfastly set in establishing heaven as a real place — spoiler alert, although it is in the title. From an outsider’s perspective there’s something to be said for the tale of a family in the heart of a storm of conviction — it is at its core an exercise in validating religious belief.
While there isn’t much to be said for creativity on behalf of the filmmakers, there are plenty of nice establishing shots of Nebraska that paint the picture of rural life. But the divine scenery is only almost enough to offset the moralistic climax and doesn’t quite make up for the journey to get there.
The verdict:Will play well with those who have an interest in Sunday school teachings, otherwise go see a different Captain America movie.
Pulp Diction 