Breakthrough (2019)

 

Breakthrough is one of the better faith-based films in recent years, and that’s saying something substantial given how narrowly focused and rather simple-minded many other entries have been. Chrissy Metz (best known for her role on TV’s This Is Us) portrays Joyce Smith, a mom whose Christian faith brings her adopted son back to life after he falls through the ice covering a lake in St. Louis, Missouri. Her son John (played by Marcel Ruiz, who spends much of the film in a coma in a hospital bed, so not the most challenging of roles) is a 14-year-old aspiring basketball star, but he has quite a lot of baggage that makes him resistant to the love that his mother offers. He was abandoned as a baby in Guatemala, and the Smiths (Josh Lucas plays husband and adoptive father Brian Smith) rescued him while on a mission to South America. John is also rescued from the frozen lake but not until he’s been submerged for more than twenty minutes. Attempts to revive him at the first hospital fail, but when his mother shows up and prays over his body, he regains his pulse after being pronounced dead. From the religious perspective of the film, she obviously prays him back to life. He’s transferred to another hospital in order to have Dr. Garrett (Dennis Haysbert, a reliable and welcome presence in many TV shows and movies), who is a specialist in drowning cases—whatever that means—assist in reviving John. Garrett offers little hope that John will survive or even be close to normal if he does survive given the likely damage to his brain and other major organs. Joyce, however, believes that her faith and prayer can bring her son back, and other prayers follow from John’s classmates and teachers, everyone at the family’s church, and even people who hear about John’s story on the news. You can easily figure out the ending without any help, but that doesn’t necessarily detract from the movie’s various strengths such as the performances by Metz and by Topher Grace from That 70s Show as Pastor Jason, a more “contemporary” Christian than Joyce would like to have as the leader of her church (but who she warms to, naturally, as she sits by John’s bed in the hospital). The film does suffer from some of the clichés that weigh down many faith-based films. For example, the firefighter who rescues John, Tommy Shine (Mike Colter), admits that he doesn’t really know if he believes in God, and the non-believer comes around to accepting the power of faith before the end credits begin to roll. Even Joyce has to admit her failings and submit fully to God in order for her prayers to work. And, of course, there are lots of tears. Breakthrough is a very weepy movie with tons of crying, but all of the tears are earned honestly. The story is based upon Joyce Smith’s book about what truly happened to her son, and the real-life counterparts to the film’s characters appear at the end. It’s very inspiring to see them all well and happy.

Oscar Nomination: Best Original Song (“I’m Standing with You”)