Review of Letters to God (2010) by Matt A — 10 Apr 2010

A lot of potential wasted for what boils down to be a feel good movie about the power of prayer.

The synopsis really covers the entire plot for the film--no hidden twists at the end of the film, or unique foils to keep your interest. From beginning to end this story follows young Tyler as he copes with a rare form of brain cancer by writing letters to the man in the clouds. Well, that's not entirely accurate.

While the film advances along to what should be a very obvious conclusion, it actually follows the people AROUND Tyler--his mother, brother, friend, neighbor, and an alcoholic postman. Under normal circumstances there is plenty of room for characters to cope, grow, and tackle some of the difficult issues that people face when a loved one has cancer. Instead the viewer is bombarded by the "power of prayer" from beginning to end and a cast of generally static characters.

While the film is very well made, the content leaves much to be desired. As many others have already pointed out, this film goes very quickly from bland to tear-jerker and back again. Many of the best moments are ones where we get a glimpse of a potential sub-plot that never gets touched upon again, such as when Tyler's mother screams, "Stop quoting Bible verses to me!" Such scenes are ripe with the possibilities of themes that could have been underlying the rest of the movie (keeping faith during times of crisis and finding support in community, to name a couple) but are instead looked at in passing and never seen again as we plot along to the inevitable.

The closest we get to a dynamic character is the alcoholic postman, Brady, who goes through a very predictable redemption in the course of two hours. Everyone else is incredibly static, from the grandmother with unshakable faith to the distant-yet-caring high school brother.

In the end, whether or not you enjoy "Letters to God" is likely to be strongly dependent on how comfortable you are with outspoken Christianity (or subtle, if you consider the soundtrack) and whether or not you know someone with cancer. Not a film I would recommend for non-Christians, and even then I can recommend much better.