The term “faith-based drama” strikes terror in the hearts of anyone who isn’t the most pious because it typically entails endless platitudes and piety with very little drama. There are elements of that in this true story, but director Jon Gunn and writers Meg Tilly and Kelly Fremon Craig mercifully keep it to a minimum, allowing the kindness and generosity of their characters to shine through without too much sermonising. It also benefits from solid performances and a genuinely gut-wrenching set-up. We are talking about the Ordinary Angels Movie.
Hilary Swank is Sharon, a hard-partying single mother with a drink problem. Taking advice that says one should combat alcoholism by finding meaning in life, she seizes on to a story in the local paper about sweet little girl, Michelle (Emily Mitchell), who desperately needs a liver transplant. Sharon inserts herself into the family’s lives — much to stoic dad Ed’s (Alan Ritchson) discomfort — paying their bills and trying to navigate through spiralling medical costs.
Swank plays her like an Erin Brockovich type who gets things done by being unconventional and tenacious, dagnabbit; she’s got her demons like Brockovich, here embodied by an insatiable need to stop throwing back shots. But Ordinary Angels film can’t afford her Soderbergh heroine complexity; her relentlessly cheery facade only cracks every so often. Ritchson arguably has the harder job as the hard-working blue-collar guy staying strong for his daughters while quietly falling apart inside or whatever else acting cliché you want to use for someone coping badly despite looking like Jack Reacher without any helplessness whatsoever.
Ultimately though – yes – it’s another scathing indictment of America’s inhumane healthcare system and the enormous amount of suffering caused by it but – yes again – regular people come together here to save the day, say pat things about God, inspire faith etc etc etc… which is nice but shouldn’t be necessary; life or death shouldn’t come down to one hairdresser, no matter how well-intentioned. So it’s hard to feel anything other than rage really, and hope for better medical care.
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