Review of The Overnighters (2014) by Hayden G — 23 Feb 2015

What a wonderful and marvelous film about faith, love, and the scandal of grace. Director Jesse Moss gets deep into the lives of the subjects of his documentary about a pastor in North Dakota who opens the doors of his church, his home, and his life to some of the least reputable in our society. As he faces pressure from the community and even his own church, we see the toll that ministry can take on a person. He never struggles in his relationship with God, but we see his doubts when it comes to how you do ministry in this world.

This is such a great picture of what Christ-like love and grace looks like in the real world. It isn't always pretty, it doesn't always make sense, the choices aren't always clear and easy, and it's always scandalous. But through showing the servant's heart of this pastor and the Christ-like love he display in his life, this film is the best "faith-based" film I've ever seen. It doesn't deny the flawed humanity in the pastor and the community, but it also doesn't deny the mark of Christ in his life.

I love the fact that this film doesn't sugar coat it, it doesn't make the pastor a mythic hero without flaws, but that it shows how God can use ordinary, broken people to love and serve other broken people. There's a third act twist, that I think was important to show in the film, and I know unfortunately people will use this as a reason to point fingers at the church again. However, I think without highlighting this point, showing the heartbreak and failure that exists within a person, you don't get the full picture of grace.

Grace is messy. Grace is scandalous. But grace is necessary. The Overnighters gets this, whether it knows it or not. I'm glad this film exists, because it doesn't paint the church as a black and white portrait. It's neither perfect or completely evil. It's broken. It's flawed. But it can do things that nothing else can.