ED SCHMITT (Alan Ritchson) is a widower struggling to support his two daughters. The younger one, Michelle (Emily Mitchell), who is three years old and seriously underweight, needs a liver transplant. Life changes in Ordinary Angels (Cert. 12A) when Sharon (Hilary Swank), a hard-drinking hairdresser, stumbles into Ed at his wife’s funeral. She hears the minister advising the congregation to find a purpose, make a difference.
This is where Sharon comes into her own. She fund-raises, manages Ed’s considerable debts, and does the necessary PR to secure him an impressive roofing contract. Ed’s mother sees this as the answer to prayer. The story is as much about Sharon’s needs as the Schmitts’. She’s a bit of a mess. Parenting, according to her estranged son, left much to be desired.
Her steamrolling personality may get things done, but there are negative consequences. Ed feels uncomfortable, his masculinity feels threatened, and his role as a father is undermined by her capabilities. In the words of C.S. Lewis, she lives for others, and you can tell the others by their hunted look. One also wonders whether Michelle’s defective liver is a wake-up call to protect her own from further abuse. In reality, she is a wounded healer, motivated by low self-esteem to champion something worth while.
The film is a Kingdom Story production, from the company that brought us Jesus Revolution (Arts, 23 June 2023). With Lionsgate Films, it aims to make “films that ignite a rush of hope”. Andrew Erwin, one of its founders, says that the focus is to introduce Christianity to a generation that is walking away from the Church. It is uncertain whether this particular film will achieve that.
The producers feel that the local church is the hope of the world, and that Christians are here to serve their communities. The church briefly figures here only when suddenly a liver becomes available. The trouble is that it is in Omaha, Nebraska, hours away from Kentucky, at the onset of the state’s worst-ever snowstorm. How can they get there, and, just as important, where is the money coming from to pay huge hospital fees? The pastor, Dave Stone (Drew Powell), allows a chartered plane to land in the church parking lot. Many of the townsfolk help to clear the snow to ensure a safe landing.
The real Pastor Dave recognised it as one of those occasions when God does his best work; for this film is based on a true story. Unfortunately, in dramatic terms, the scenario takes a lot of swallowing. The alacrity with which Sharon engages with the family’s problems stretches credibility. This feels due to weaknesses in the screenplay rather than to the sterling efforts of Swank. UK audiences may react more to the scandalous way in which health care is administered in the United States than Sharon’s pioneering spirit. Ed owes thousands of dollars, which he cannot repay, for hospital services. Ordinary Angels may primarily serve to reinforce overwhelming gratitude for the NHS, free at the point of use, rather than to evangelise.