In Fort Worth, there are two worlds. The first one is the successful part of town where art dealer Ron Hall (Greg Kinnear) lives with his beautiful wife, Deb (Renee Zellweger) and their two wonderful teenagers, in a spectacular house. The other side is where the poor and homeless reside, including Denver (Djimon Hounsou). Ron and Deb have grown apart as of late and Ron cheats on his wife. Yet, Deb, a strong Christian, decides to work through their problems and especially wants Ron to join her in volunteering at a soup kitchen near the homeless. Reluctantly, he does so. One day, Denver comes in with a baseball bat and starts breaking furniture. Deb confronts him and he leaves....for a spell. When returning more subdued, Deb and Ron reach out to him and a friendship begins. Little by little, they learn Denver's sad life story, from being abandoned by his mother, having his grandmother's house burn down, working as a sharecropper, etc. No wonder he is such a bitter man, at times. Yet, all parties learn how much they have in common, rather than dwelling on differences. Even over the objections of his bigoted and alcoholic dad (Jon Voight), Ron insists on staying pals with and helping Denver. Then, a huge crisis occurs, involving Deb's health. Will this crisis draw them closer together or tear them apart? This beautiful true story is hampered by a direction so slow that even a snail would object. As such, the impact of the tale is greatly diminished, despite good performances from Kinnear and Zellweger. Only Hounsou rises about the tedious pace; when he is on screen, the viewer is riveted. The Texas scenery looks great as do the costumes and art direction. Certainly, too, the message of forgiveness is welcome anytime so no one should be discouraged from seeing it for its themes. Yet, after a view, even the most casual movie fan will wish that the film had a better pace and better editing. Let's hope the producers of Pure Flix will learn from the down side of a story on screen which should have had greater meaning.