All Saints (2017)

My stepmom and father and I wound up going to see this film today (8/25) in the theater on the day it premieres, and I have to say, it is very enjoyable!

My stepmom Peggy was the person who first brought this movie to my attention.  I must confess, I had not heard of the film prior to her telling me about it; however, once I had watched a few trailers for the film, I was convinced that this would be a movie worth going to see.

To set up, this based-on-a-true-story movie begins in Smyrna, Tennessee, at a once-thriving Episcopal church known as All Saints, that has significantly dwindled in membership to less than a dozen faithful members.  The regional Episcopal authorities, including the local Bishop (veteran actor Gregory Alan Williams) have designated the church for closing and sale to local developers.   The plan is to demolish the church, and build a shopping center in its stead.

The Reverend Michael Spurlock (admirably portrayed by John Corbett) is a former paper salesman who has been designated for assignment as pastor at All Saints.  He is a newly-ordained minister, and All Saints is his first assignment.  However, he is merely intended to handle the transition of the church from a place of religious congregation, to a space for commercial transaction (the aforementioned shopping center).  Basically, he’s the guy his superiors have chosen to shut down the church…forever.

Reverend Michael does not relish being a hatchet-man.  He notices only about twelve regulars at his services, but figures if he can increase his congregation, he can persuade his superiors to spare his church from closure.  He sends out fliers to gauge local interest in the church, and receives an unexpected response: a community of Karen refugees originally from the war-torn southeast Asian nation of Burma heeds the call, and starts attending services.  The Karen have a history of conversion to Anglican Christianity as a vestige of the British colonial past of Burma.  It is a small trickle at first, but gradually, the Karen start arriving in greater numbers.

Reverend Michael realizes that there is still a need for All Saints to minister to God’s people, as his church provides necessary resources and comfort (both earthly and spiritual) to the Karen refugees.  However, the economic realities of the situation soon rear their ugly head: the church has almost a million dollars in mortgage debt, with no easy solution of paying off that debt.  Michael hatches a plan with his new friend and unofficial representative/leader of the Karen refugees, the English-speaking former soldier Ye Win (the talented Nelson Lee.)  With the labor and talent of many individuals including themselves and the refugees, and the support of family members- including Michael’s wife (Cara Buono) and Son (Myles Moore), and local ex-farmer/ex-Vietnam vet widower Forrest (the always good Barry Corbin) and local business persons like Boyd (David Keith) the community decides to raise crops on the church land and sell it to help pay off their debt and keep the church open.

Well, needless to say, things do not exactly go according to plan, and the All Saints community faces quite a few trials and tribulations on the way to ultimate vindication.

I’m Roman Catholic, not Episcopalian, yet I found myself drawn into the story of All Saints quite easily, as there are more than a few story points that I feel I can relate with.

Currently, the Roman Catholic Church is experiencing the phenomena of parish closings/and or mergers to an unprecedented degree in our history.  Therefore, it’s not hard for me, as a Catholic, to imagine the same financial difficulties and threat of closure that plague the Episcopal church of All Saints, hitting Catholic Churches, and the need to come up with a creative solution to continue to minister to the flock.

The similarities hit even closer to home when I notice the parallels of the Catholic Church and what appears here to be “high church” Episcopalian, in terms of liturgy, songs, vestments of the clergy, statues (Blessed Mother and Baby Jesus) the painting of a Crucifix at the front of the All Saints church, etc.  Even the external architecture of the All Saints church itself (where the film was shot on-location) was remarked by my father as being similar in look to my boyhood family parish of St. Helena’s in Blue Bell PA (and I certainly noticed the resemblance as well.)

And of course, there is a parallel that Catholicism in America experiences right now regarding its transition in membership.  Currently, Catholic parishes and parishioners are increasingly more diverse in America, with a large influx of new members from Mexico and Central America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa every day.

Casting-wise, it was good to see two veterans of the old quirky 1990s CBS tv show Northern Exposure (Corbett and Corbin) back together on-screen in this film.  Cara Buono has been a favorite actress of mine, ever since I first saw her in the 1992 Cuba Gooding, Jr. boxing movie Gladiator.  It’s also neat to see An Officer and a Gentleman’s young naval officer recruit David Keith here as well.

Anyone interested in an inspiring story of faith and perseverance (even those without a particular religious orientation) I would encourage to see this feel-good (but realistic) film.