Christian Review Magazine Issue 2 - Jan/Feb 2015 | Page 17

MOVIE REVIEW Title: REDEMPTION OF THE COMMONS Rating: Starring: Jeremy Marr Williams, Susan Lorraine Anderson, Ed Silvera, Storm Smith Written by: K.T. Terry Directed by: K.T. Terry Genre: Drama Running Time: 90 minutes MPAA Rating: NR Production Company: Windchime Pictures Released by: Exploration Films Reviewed by: Christian St John Release Date: Available Now : DVD & VOD V ictor is a man trying to make his way in the world. Living from the back of his van he is working hard to establish a corporate branding business in L.A. Unfortunately Victor is broke, owing $93,000 in debt. Victor’s world comes crashing down on him when his latest pitch goes terribly wrong and his van is repossessed. With nowhere left to turn he makes a call to Pop, an elderly friend from his past, who tells him to come home. However, home is a rundown trailer park filled with bad memories and broken relationships. Redemption of the Commons is low budget movie from South Carolina. A deep drama peppered with humor, this is a highly watchable movie that shows that with God anything is possible. For the tenants of the trailer park, known as The Commons, life is often hard and hopeless with no happy ending in sight. But when they turn to God and one another, their lives are forever changed. For a low (micro) budget movie the production itself is pretty good. The picture and sound are clear, the screenplay is good, and the acting is above par, with everyone turning in believable performances. I liked that the rundown trailer park looked like a rundown trailer park, not a particularly pleasant place to live. This helped me to see that for many people places like this are home. And it helped me to see the hardship and struggle some people live with on a daily basis. But it’s not all doom and gloom. The story is ultimately one of hope. Like phoenixes rising from the ashes, the residents of The Commons pull together and use what talents and gifts they have to make a better life for themselves. Like a family, they begin to rely on one another and discover their purpose together. The main message of the movie is, God’s got a plan and a purpose for all of us. As Pop says to Victor, “God’s got you a purpose, and you’ll find it. And when you do you’ll know, ‘cause you’ll dance.” And I like that! Redemption of the Commons is not a high octane, multi layered storylined epic. Instead this is slower paced story driven movie, a gentle and highly relatable tale of redemption, where people come together to step into the lives God would have them live. CHRISTIAN REVIEW > 17