HEAVEN IS FOR REAL, based on the bestseller of the same name, means well as it attempts for wrest something theologically profound out of its subject matter. Kudos for the try, but the film as a whole is so painfully cardboard and cliché, that those little nuggets of genuinely existential crisis dont stand a chance of having the impact that they should.
Theological questing drives the story of far too adorable Colton Burpo (Connor Corum) a four-year-old who claims to have visited heaven while on the operating table fighting for his life. The film is at pains to establish that this was not a near-death experience, and Coltons father, Reverend Todd Burpo (Greg Kinear), is at pains to reconcile this radical claim to the liberal form of Christianity he preaches at his Wesleyan church in Imperial, Nebraska. Hes a popular guy with a serious commitment to his faith and to his lovely wife, Sonja (Kelly Reilly), but when word of the celestial trip begins to spread, it causes a series of crises of faith and if unity for the family and for the church.
While HEAVEN is firmly in the faith-based film camp, it is a gentle, inclusive sort of faith, one in which Todd (he eschews being called Rev. Burpo) is okay with the psychologist he consults not being a believer. In fact, he prefers it that way. As for the church, its governing board would prefer that their church not attract what the board president (Margo Martindale) refers to as the brainless Christian contingent. Proof of heaven for her is a throwback to when heaven and hell were used to tyrannize the faithful. As for the family, older sister Cassie (Lane Styles) is getting into fistfights over the revelation, and Sonjia just wants everything to go back to normal.
Kinnear is the best thing in the film, giving a heartfelt, vibrant performance as a man suddenly confronted by the truth of his beliefs and being left not comforted but shaken. This is no stodgy man of God. He has the same money problems as his parishioners, a saucy relationship with his wife, and a wicked way of belting out non-hymns. He brings a solid sincerity to Todds essential goodness without compromising the complexity of what it means to be confronted by the supernatural. Martindale is also good with a character written to be little more than a sounding board and paper-tiger for Kinnears. Thomas Haden Church, playing Todds best friend stints not a whit on his signature dry irony, lifting his sounding-board of a role into something highly entertaining, not to mention a tonic for the serious and the surfeit of sweetness little Connor Corum exudes. Granted a four-year-old will probably never have the emotional depth of Hamlet, but the cherubic face can only work so long before his rote recital of lines becomes irritating. Credit where its due, he does rise to the occasion from time to time, doing that wonderful innocence in the face of incredulity thing that should have been the backbone of the film.
HEAVEN IS FOR REAL takes us to heaven, but only for a few scenes of supersaturated color and standard-issue angels. Its an interesting story, but beyond bringing it to the attention of a wider audience than was reached by the book, its not much else.
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