I CAN ONLY IMAGINE (**1/2)
Directors: Andrew Erwin, Jon Erwin
Writers: Jon Erwin ,Brent McCorkle
Story by Alex Cramer
Stars: Dennis Quaid (Arthur)
J. Michael Finley (Bart)
Brody Rose (Young Bart)
Trace Adkins (Brickell)
Madeline Carroll (Shannon)
First things first... Why oh why do they put a guitar in the hands of an actor who has never played the instrument? I am talking to you Nicole DuPort (Amy Grant in the movie). From what I could see she knows one chord...if it is an actual chord.
Second things second... if you see the movie, please confirm my thinking: That is not 1080 on an AM dial.
This one is weighed down by bad writing, bad direction and bad taste. The credits list The Erwin Brothers as directors. I think there is a big difference in their choices. It feels like 2 people (maybe more) are directing. Every 10-15 minutes, you start thinking, "Huh?". Whether it is something someone says in response to another character or how they edit the film. And that's too bad.
The movie gives you the backstory of the song "I Can Only Imagine" by MercyMe which was penned by their lead vocalist, Bart Millard. As the movie begins he says he wrote the song in about 20 minutes but a woman with whom he is speaking tells him it has taken his whole life. Enter the artist as a young man. Not surprisingly, in the backstory, dad is abusive and mom gets the hell out of Dodge. This leaves young Bart to fend for himself. He tries to fulfill his father's football dreams but gets injured. Then he finds his voice, literally, in the high school production of Oklahoma!. After he graduates he breaks free to pursue his dream of music. Along the way he has an off/on relationship with a young woman, Shannon.
All of the gigs and the traveling in their own bus, leads MercyMe to what should be their big break in Nashville. It is a showcase with executives from different record labels. There is Bart (now J. Michael Finley), telling the crowd how everything is led up to this moment. BUT, the movie cuts to the band waiting backstage to see if they will get a record deal before he can sing one note. For a movie about a band, there is very little music. At one earlier concert Bart announces the band has written a new song themselves. You hear maybe 45 seconds of it. Baffling.
However, the filmmakers cannot fault the actors. Dennis Quaid (Arthur) is working up there on screen and I think he is working alone. It looks as if the directors decided to leave him alone and let him do what he knows how to do. But this approach does not do them any favors with working with the other actors, especially the younger ones or most notably Trace Adkins. Brody Rose (Young Bart) is up to the challenge but the directors can't seem to help his performance. The scenes between him and a young Shannon (Taegen Burns) seem rushed. But here's hoping J. Michael Finley can make his way forward to better projects. In the scenes where Bart is overwhelmed, by the stars he meets (Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith) or by his own feelings for his father, Mr. Finley gets the job done..
All the elements to inspire the audience are there. However, the filmmakers seem unsure of themselves or they have not developed their own sense of taste and style to really pull this off. Last example, when the father (Dennis Quaid) is in the hospital, Bart and Shannon are there having made their way there after Bart's performance in the high school musical. Shannon has the sense something is very wrong with the father. She approaches the doctor to ask about him. The doctor, correctly, asks if she is family. Shannon says she is not. The doctor tells her she can't tell her anything. "Huh?" How else was that supposed to go? And that is the overwhelming feeling from this one. It goes along and then you have to ask yourself, "Huh?"
But at least they were aiming up.
First things first... Why oh why do they put a guitar in the hands of an actor who has never played the instrument? I am talking to you Nicole DuPort (Amy Grant in the movie). From what I could see she knows one chord...if it is an actual chord.
Second things second... if you see the movie, please confirm my thinking: That is not 1080 on an AM dial.
This one is weighed down by bad writing, bad direction and bad taste. The credits list The Erwin Brothers as directors. I think there is a big difference in their choices. It feels like 2 people (maybe more) are directing. Every 10-15 minutes, you start thinking, "Huh?". Whether it is something someone says in response to another character or how they edit the film. And that's too bad.
The movie gives you the backstory of the song "I Can Only Imagine" by MercyMe which was penned by their lead vocalist, Bart Millard. As the movie begins he says he wrote the song in about 20 minutes but a woman with whom he is speaking tells him it has taken his whole life. Enter the artist as a young man. Not surprisingly, in the backstory, dad is abusive and mom gets the hell out of Dodge. This leaves young Bart to fend for himself. He tries to fulfill his father's football dreams but gets injured. Then he finds his voice, literally, in the high school production of Oklahoma!. After he graduates he breaks free to pursue his dream of music. Along the way he has an off/on relationship with a young woman, Shannon.
All of the gigs and the traveling in their own bus, leads MercyMe to what should be their big break in Nashville. It is a showcase with executives from different record labels. There is Bart (now J. Michael Finley), telling the crowd how everything is led up to this moment. BUT, the movie cuts to the band waiting backstage to see if they will get a record deal before he can sing one note. For a movie about a band, there is very little music. At one earlier concert Bart announces the band has written a new song themselves. You hear maybe 45 seconds of it. Baffling.
However, the filmmakers cannot fault the actors. Dennis Quaid (Arthur) is working up there on screen and I think he is working alone. It looks as if the directors decided to leave him alone and let him do what he knows how to do. But this approach does not do them any favors with working with the other actors, especially the younger ones or most notably Trace Adkins. Brody Rose (Young Bart) is up to the challenge but the directors can't seem to help his performance. The scenes between him and a young Shannon (Taegen Burns) seem rushed. But here's hoping J. Michael Finley can make his way forward to better projects. In the scenes where Bart is overwhelmed, by the stars he meets (Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith) or by his own feelings for his father, Mr. Finley gets the job done..
All the elements to inspire the audience are there. However, the filmmakers seem unsure of themselves or they have not developed their own sense of taste and style to really pull this off. Last example, when the father (Dennis Quaid) is in the hospital, Bart and Shannon are there having made their way there after Bart's performance in the high school musical. Shannon has the sense something is very wrong with the father. She approaches the doctor to ask about him. The doctor, correctly, asks if she is family. Shannon says she is not. The doctor tells her she can't tell her anything. "Huh?" How else was that supposed to go? And that is the overwhelming feeling from this one. It goes along and then you have to ask yourself, "Huh?"
But at least they were aiming up.