Review of Persecuted (2014) by Greg B — 19 Jul 2014

Oh my. Just. oh my. Where to begin? I was requested by a friend to watch this movie because I was a "film buff" and they wanted to know my "thoughts" on the film, apparently; it really "touched them." Well, I'll start off by saying this, the film is obviously a pro Christian movie which is fine (I enjoyed heaven is real) but it doesn't even do a good job at that. The premise? Christianity is under attack in the United States. How is it under attack? The government wants to pass a piece of legislature called the Faith and Fairness Act. What does the bill do? Well, they never really flesh that out, but from my understanding it treats all religions equal in the United States.......soo...uh... Yeah ..... Bill of rights anyone? Whatever. Apparently this will confirm that America is not a Christian nation... They need some preacher named John Luther to help pass the bill however once he hears that "non christian nation business" he refuses.....and what do they do next? Frame this guy for rape and murder. I kid you fucking not. On what planet does this movie live on? I dunno. Fuck it. Moving on.

There's a lot to hate here in this film besides its absurd world view. I would have kinda been on board had it taken a different approach to the material. It's very obvious it's talking directly to its target audience without regard for others who might disagree with it's straw man views. There's no real attempt to really make any converts here. Had they gone with a more lets say, satirical propaganda approach the film might have worked. If only the directors and writers had actually sat down and thought it through they could have had an argument if they set the film in a place where Christians are actually getting persecuted like: Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Africa etc, but the film isn't trying to say anything insightful. It's a film preaching to the choir. It has a them vs us attitude and well doesn't even mention being fair to the other religions or philosophies out there.

Lastly, I feel sad for the desperate late career work for my all time favorite tv actor Dean stockwell. He's usually so awesome in everything he's in. My consensus? Persecuted does Christianity a large disservice. With other better faith based films out there, this is just too hard to recommend. It's uninspired and inept on almost every level. The only people being persecuted in this film is the audience. ~~ ~~~.