Like Dandelion Dust
Directed by: Joe Gunn
Starring: Barry Pepper, Mira Sorvino, Cole Hauser
Rated: PG-13 for mature thematic elements including domestic violence and alcohol abuse
Like Dandelion Dust feels more like a Hollywood film than Christian film; it has bigger name actors, better production value, and a hardly Christian message. The story follows a struggle for a child's custody between his biological parents, who claim they didn't give up for adoption, and his rich adoptive parents, whom are willing to spend every dime in their possession to keep him. The storyline of the biological parents pack a lot of power, especially thanks to the riveting performance of Barry Pepper as the boy's biological father, who is a recently released inmate, recovering from alcoholism. One of my biggest issues of the film was that he had to share the screen time with the adoptive parents who weren't likable, relatable, and pretty bad actors all-around. (The wife looked like she had a perpetual chip on her shoulder throughout the entire film.) But, while the film goes into the realm of ridiculousness at the end of the story, I couldn't help but grow frustrated that, at the end, the "Christian" characters were as shallow as the non-Christians, without any revelation of their sin or criticism of their hypocrisy. If you will, the Christians in the film are almost the villains of the story. To end without any form of redemption, repentance or, at the least, condemnation, Like Dandelion Dust turns from Christian to Hallmark, and from a potentially decent film to an extremely disappointing one.
Starring: Barry Pepper, Mira Sorvino, Cole Hauser
Rated: PG-13 for mature thematic elements including domestic violence and alcohol abuse
Like Dandelion Dust feels more like a Hollywood film than Christian film; it has bigger name actors, better production value, and a hardly Christian message. The story follows a struggle for a child's custody between his biological parents, who claim they didn't give up for adoption, and his rich adoptive parents, whom are willing to spend every dime in their possession to keep him. The storyline of the biological parents pack a lot of power, especially thanks to the riveting performance of Barry Pepper as the boy's biological father, who is a recently released inmate, recovering from alcoholism. One of my biggest issues of the film was that he had to share the screen time with the adoptive parents who weren't likable, relatable, and pretty bad actors all-around. (The wife looked like she had a perpetual chip on her shoulder throughout the entire film.) But, while the film goes into the realm of ridiculousness at the end of the story, I couldn't help but grow frustrated that, at the end, the "Christian" characters were as shallow as the non-Christians, without any revelation of their sin or criticism of their hypocrisy. If you will, the Christians in the film are almost the villains of the story. To end without any form of redemption, repentance or, at the least, condemnation, Like Dandelion Dust turns from Christian to Hallmark, and from a potentially decent film to an extremely disappointing one.
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