Despite being both prolific and profitable, the niche market of Christian themed movies is often the target of some frankly unfair derision, usually based on little else beyond the fact that they are Christian themed movies. But to tear down To Save a Life because it promotes faith is to bash The Dark Knight on the grounds that Nolan didn't have Batman and the Joker sit down and talk through their issues with one another, or to suggest that Twilight's Bella should simply 'Get over it.' These films are what they are, and to attack them for simply being that which defines them is to miss the point in the most reactionary sense.
That said, there is obviously very little in the way of mystery to most Christian movies, and To Save a Life, the directorial debut from longtime cinematographer Brian Baugh, is no exception. God is the answer to your problems, and faith in God will see you through life's many trials. To be fair, Baugh is not so naive as to present faith as some miracle cure. Nor does he overtly preach. It's a process, it's a struggle, and it takes time. But it is the final solution, so to speak.
A well-intentioned, parable somewhat undermined by thinly sketched characterization and broadly drawn cliché, To Save a Life tells the story of high-schooler Jake Taylor (Wayne). Jake is his high school's main man; star athlete, beautiful girlfriend (Briggs), hugely popular, and with a bright future ahead of him (honestly, calling him Johnny Apple Pie wouldn't have been too inappropriate). Of course, in order for Jake to discover the true path he must first venture down the wrong one, and so there's some casual drug use (nothing hard of course), some drinking (no liquor of course), and some teenage bedroom antics (lights off of course).
Suddenly tragedy strikes as a childhood friend Jake grew apart from inexplicably commits suicide. Rocked by this event and consumed by an overwhelming sense of guilt, Jake begins a search for meaning and a journey that puts him into conflict with his friends, his girlfriend, and his overbearing father (Starzyk). And here's where the clichés come out, with Jake reflexively taking Johnny (Afable), another troubled youth, under his wing. We know Johnny is troubled because he's not into sports, and he has his hair brushed over one side of his face like troubled kids do, and he's flirting with self-harm.
This, ultimately is the problem with To Save a Life - not it's presentation of what is considered good and right, which is fine, but in painfully predictable depiction of everything that's seen as bad. With so much of the conflict internalized, Baugh resorts to arbitrarily punishing his characters to get his point across. It's not possible, it would seem, to engage in casual sex and then to simply walk away from it. No, you will get pregnant. You will overnight transform into an overly emotional, confused shadow of your former self. It's also not possible, it would seem, to be one of the millions of youngsters who experiments with pot and then decides it's not for them, or grows out of it. No, it will jeopardize your future. Of course this is all possible, but it simply isn't the reality that most teenagers experience, and as such doesn't ever really ring true. What's missing is a sense of subtlety and until a film comes along that's just content with portraying Christianity as a simple, healthy alternative to the myriad of choices, good and bad, that confront young people every day they'll reach a small audience beyond the converted.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
A behind the scenes featurette, a gag reel, a couple of music videos, and a handful of deleted scenes.
"To Save A Life" is on sale August 3, 2010 and is rated PG13. Christian, Drama. Directed by Brian Baugh. Written by Jim Britts. Starring Amy Briggs, Chris Vaughn, David Starzyk, Doug Moore, Joshua Weigel, Randy Wayne, Robert Bailey Jr, Sean Michael Afable, Steven Crowder.
