The one undeniable truth that I gained from watching Heaven is For Real, is that it is absolutely impossible to put a visual representation of heaven on screen without it looking hopelessly naff. The Lord and his angels may be intended to inspire awe but as I was presented with a choir of heavenly beings and a Jesus who bears an uncanny resemblance to ‘80s soft rocker Kevin Godley (youngsters may have to Google that reference), I only felt inspired to laugh. This is a pity because the true-life Christian family drama Heaven is For Real isn’t anywhere near as awful as it sounds.
Greg Kinnear stars as the improbably named Reverend Todd Burpo, an all round good guy living in Nebraska with wife Sonja (Kelly Reilly) and his two young children Colton and Cassie. Although the family has some money troubles they are content with their lot but when Colton is taken seriously ill, the family is thrown into turmoil. Against the odds he pulls through, only to proclaim that during his medical procedures, he visited heaven in the company of Jesus. These revelations propel Todd into a crisis of faith as he struggles to believe in his son’s story while facing hostility from sceptical parishioners.
Heaven is For Real is a bit of a curate’s egg; an overtly Christian film that bears all the hallmarks of a made for TV weepie, yet boasts some nice performances from genuinely big acting names. The fantastical sequences are an undeniable problem but thanks to those stars, there is the germ of a sincere little story here about the interestingly arbitrary rules that believers apply to their own faith. The parishioners that attend Church every week may believe in the idea that the power of prayer can save a child’s life but balk when that child suggests proof of life after death. This conflict of faith and reason is an interesting one and is nicely played by Kinnear and supporting actors Thomas Haden Church and Margo Martindale.
We can expect to see more of these kinds of films in the future – their pulling power over the previously untapped American Christian market will undoubtedly speak for itself. I fear that not all of this religious output will be as watchable as Heaven is For Real; though it occasionally veers uncontrollably into the ridiculous, it’s a film that will offend neither the devout nor the sceptic.