The film follows the story of the man who provoked great controversy, Brian Nichols, who escaped from the Fulton County Court in Atlanta. Brian managed to kill the appointed judge in his case and then detain Smith, a single mother who is struggling to survive.
How does an actor depict something as ineffable and internal as undergoing a spiritual awakening? Mara does it with only the darting of her eyes and the slowing of her breath, and it's an extraordinary moment that should be remembered come Oscar time.
So inept a film, so bland and monotonous, that it fails even to serve as the blatant ad for the certain Christian motivational book it would appear to be.
The problem, alas, is that Mara and Oyelowo are ultimately captive in a script that doesn't allow its characters to stretch outside their preordained boundaries.
The film's reluctance to overinvest in its religious significance will certainly not satisfy the spiritual nor will it come as a welcome relief to the skeptical, placing the overall audience in a state of limbo.
