Christian cinema needs to take more risks

"God chose to introduce Himself to us in the first verse of Genesis as a Creator. And yet so few Christians really understand the power of creativity to influence the culture." -- Phil Cooke

Three years ago I saw a movie that forever changed my perception of Christian cinema. What If..., directed by Dallas Jenkins, proved that faith-based films didn't have to be plagued by poor production value, underwhelming acting, meandering story lines, and heavy handed preachiness. Finally, I had found a Christian movie I wasn't embarrassed to share with my non-believing friends.

Unfortunately, What If... didn't start a new trend. High quality faith-based movies are still the exception, but church audiences tend to give them a free pass because the filmmakers are "doing God's work." Really, does a movie have to look pretty to be effective?

Yes. It does.

I'm not talking pretty in the sense of beautiful scenery, gorgeous stars, and shiny plot points (though it's not like any of those elements are bad!). I'm talking about faith-based films meeting the production standards of the secular motion pictures that dominate the box office. There's no reason Christian cinema shouldn't be held to the same standards as, say, Dallas Buyers Club or Captain Phillips or The Hangover, part 8.

It's time for Christian filmmakers to raise their own bars. It's time to bring story to the forefront and let the message come out organically instead of forcing it down the audience's throat. It's time to employ talented folks who may not share our worldview, but who bring world-class sensibilities to any and all stages of production.

It's time to take the kid gloves off and tackle some of the bigger issues that are running this world into the ground. Or, on a lighter note, it's time to crack some jokes about ourselves and tear down that wall that separates the overly pious from the shunned bystanders.

Now, What If... isn't a movie that risks a lot, but its production value ranks up there with mainstream Hollywood cinema. The script is tight, the acting is solid, the direction is spot-on, and the overall feel is unlike most faith-based films available today.


New on DVD last week is a faith-based film that rivals What If... as my favorite Christian movie of the last decade. At times riotous, always heartfelt, and undeniably relatable to me as a stay-at-home dad, Moms' Night Out finally continues the trend I'd wanted What If... to ignite. It's no coincidence that Moms' Night Out is written by What If... screenwriter Andrea Nasfell, who will join me in my next blog entry to share some of the backstory behind Moms' Night Out.

I can't recommend Moms' Night Out and What If… enough. To me, they set the standard for what faith-based films should be. Are they perfect? Of course not. No movie is. But strip away the Christian message (which isn't nauseatingly forced down the throats of the audience), and these movies look like they belong in the same category as typical wide-release Hollywood fare.

And that is what makes them effective.