Summary
8 tech score
“I Can Only Imagine” (Roadside Attractions)
Every year there is one film that reaches me emotionally and gives me glorious entertainment at the movies. Last year it was “The Greatest Showman” and the year before it was “Hacksaw Ridge.” This year my “emotional” movie came early. It is “I Can Only Imagine.” This faith based film rally surprised me with its impact. I thought it would be good; I had no idea it would be great. But it is!
“I Can Only Imaginer” tells the story behind the best selling Christian song by the group MercyMe. More specifically it tells the story of lead singer Bart Millard (J Michael Finley) who wrote that song. It Is an engrossing plot as it tells about Millard being raised by a physically and emotionally abusive father (Dennis Quaid).
It also shows how Millard came to learn of his singing skills. He had a chorus teacher (Priscilla Shirer) in high school who overheard him singing to himself one day and convinced him of his unusual talent. Once he started singing he couldn’t be stopped. After grasduation he formed the group MercyMe and started writing songs.
Still his relationship with his father remained contentious. There was too much abuse to be forgotten. They remained estranged but it always troubled Bart. It was a feeling of despair and distrust he did not think could be overcome.
The film is perfectly paced by co-directors Andrew and Jon Erwin. There is no rush to tell the story and there is no filler to slow it down. It just evolves in a gripping and imaginative way. By the end of the film when you learn of how the song came to be, you are totally absorbed in the story.
J Michael Finley is a real find as Bart Millard. He projects a totally likable personality which is a necessity for the audience to be brought into the story. He has a wonderful voice as well, plus the acting ability to slide inside the character of Bart Millard.
As good as Finley is, Dennis Quaid is the one who seals the deal on the story. His performance as Arthur Millard is one of his best ever and Quaid has delivered some strong performances in his career. Quaid has to be believable when he is showing Arthur’s dark side as well as when he is adding a glimmer of hope for his soul. This is not an easy thing to do but Quaid does it brilliantly.
“I Can Only Imagine” is a faith based film but it is also a strong movie about a person who overcomes a lot of adversity in his life. If you are a person of faith you are probably going to enjoy it more, but believers and non believers can get caught up in this story of redemption and reconciliation.
The film is rated PG for abuse situations.
Some movies you hope will be good turn out to be bad; some movies you hope will be good turn out to be good; and some movies you hope will be good are so good they knock your socks off. “I Can Only Imagine” knocked my socks off.
I scored “I Can Only Imagine” a real 8 out of 10.
Jackie K Cooper
www.jackiekcooper.com
