Review of Redemption Road (2011) by Paul N — 13 Aug 2012

It tries too hard to do too much with so little.

It wants to talk about spirituality, but it seems afraid to really do so. Mixing talk of AA's 'higher power' with subliminal Christian verbiage ends up diluting and confusing things. The result is a higher power credited with creating the universe and therefore our sexual instincts and therefore 'down with' casual sex. There's a huge emphasis on forgiveness, without any real context for it. What higher power insists on forgiveness after first providing it? Redemption from what, by whom? Why is sacrifice for anyone else worth it?

This film seems to want to take all of the powerful benefits of Christianity and Scripture while gutting it of any of the specifics, anything that might crimp our style or otherwise pin us down. As such, the film is hollow because the theology it seeks to draw from has been hollowed out.

And has Hollywood so quickly forgotten the disaster of "Crossroads" nearly 25 years ago? Why is it that films about the blues always feature talentless white guys who are supposed to be musical phenoms, while the genuine geniuses are relegated to barely credited backup music scenes? Frustrating!