God Bless the Broken Road (2018)
I wonder if – let me correct myself – I hope the audiences who go see God Bless the Broken Road see through all of its manipulative elements. There are people who are determined to see these faith-based films but come on, you deserve better.
2 years after the death of her husband while on patrol in Afghanistan, Amber (Lindsay Pulsipher) has stopped going to church with her young daughter, Bree (Makenzie Moss). Struggling to meet her mortgage payments, she isn’t interested in moving on until she meets Cody Jackson (Andrew W. Walker), a washed-up race car driver who must return to his roots and re-learn the basics under the tutelage of the local mechanic, Joe (Gary Grubbs).
I’m used to films of this breed laying it on thick but director Harold Cronk (who also writes with the help of Jennifer Dornbrush) does nothing BUT pour on the cheese and fake sentimentality. Of course, Amber’s husband was killed heroically a week before he was about to come home. Of course, the man he saved now goes to Amber's church despite previously being a non-believer. Obviously, Amber’s despair culminates in a big scene where she yells at God himself, begging for answers – I guess she’s unaware that bad things happen to people all the time and feels singled out for some reason. Will we be offered ANYTHING new?
In order to make you cheer for Amber, God Bless the Broken Road has to make her the ultimate underdog but the film goes too far. Anyone can see that ultimately, Amber’s responsible for her own problems. Then, we cut to wacky rom-com shenanigans. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen a film in which two people watch a (fake) horror movie and get so frightened that when the doorbell rings, they arm themselves with a rolling-pin and other makeshift weapons before answering the door. Then, there's the race car driver who doesn’t know how to make high-speed turns and must let go of his arrogance so he can become champion... So it’s Cars but with people.
On a technical level, the direction is flat but competent, again making this a film whose appearance in cinemas feel like an anomaly. Lindsay Pulsipher has a number of heavy scenes which she handles well. Less lucky is young Makenzie Moss who’s been half-heartedly instructed to do that wittle giwl accent thing in half her scenes.
God Bless the Broken Road isn’t harmful or delusional in the way Cronk’s God’s Not Dead 1 & 2 were but that doesn't mean very much. I didn’t think The Nun was particularly good but if you’re compelled to see one film in theaters this weekend that features a lot of people praying, see the horror movie, not this hokey, clichéd faith-based drama. (Theatrical version on the big screen, September 8, 2018)
