I genuinely liked this movie, the true story of Kennedy Hansen, a girl with Batten’s disease and how that impacted her family and those around her. I’m definitely outside the target audience ideologically, but I found myself moved by the story that was told and holding back or wiping away tears despite my cynical-ish attitude going into it. I think this happened in large part to the spirit in which the film was made. There’s a sincerity and belief pumping through the film that I can’t deny even when I’m uncomfortable with some of the particulars of those beliefs or my experience doesn’t really resonate with others (but we’ll get to that in a bit). I’ve felt this frequently with T. C. Christensen’s work (17 Miracles, Forever Strong, and even Ephraim’s Rescue, which I think is a weaker film than those other two).
Whether you want to identify that feeling as the Spirit or an emotional sincerity, or standard heart-string pulling manipulation is up to you. Christensen’s work is like a sincere, heartfelt testimony and that’s worth something, even if my testimony differs from his.
The camerawork is strong here, again, per usual with Christensen’s films, likely owing to his beginnings as a cinematographer (and continuing to do the cinematography for his films). This film in particular has some inventive work happening to convey time and particularly to help the audience have glimpses as Kennedy sees, as her eyesight deteriorates throughout the film. Perhaps my favorite shot is an overhead tracking shot of an LDS chapel, which provides a different way of seeing chapels than we typically experience and was striking.
The film felt a bit like a string of Mormon Messages (and your reaction to that is probably a strong predictor of your reaction to the film), with related narrative threads, but in some ways operating independently of one another. I think this is partially due to using the father as the point-of-view character, occasionally editorializing what we are seeing or not quite seeing. He’s one-step removed from most of the action, which creates some distance.
I wanted more complexity from the film; especially because complexity is teased throughout it. The father, Jason Hansen, expresses a moment of doubt about this life for Kennedy being part of God’s plan. We later see how in a flashback how that was resolved, but we don’t really see him wrestle with or confront these doubts. There’s a moment of expression and that’s it. Later, there’s a boy in Kennedy’s seminary class, Jaden, who we are told is super popular, but struggles with some aspects of the Church and we hear him expressing some of those doubts. Yet, again, despite some other appearances, we don’t see his journey or wrestle with those, just the resolution of them. I’m biased towards wanting to see that and recognize that those aren’t really the story being told, but found the father’s arc particularly lacking in complexity since he is the narrator and figure through which we are experiencing everything.
The movie is largely a story of acceptance and love and community and the power of an individual to change the hearts, minds, and lives of those around her. These messages are great and powerfully conveyed throughout the film. There are some potentially more problematic theologically ideas expressed however. First, the film boldly leans into Ghost Mormonism, the presence of spirits of the deceased in the lives of the living. I’ve never experienced anything like the experiences portrayed here, but I applaud the boldness of the choice and again how it seems reflective of sincerity and authenticity from Christensen and those involved. Second, and more troubling, is the film’s insistence that Kennedy chose to have Batten’s disease and all the complications that come with it and the implied justification that it needed to happen to bless others and that her pain and suffering were necessary to bring others closer to Christ. Now, this seems to be a sincere belief of Kennedy and Kennedy’s family and others and I’m fine with the theological implications of Kennedy as an individual choosing this for the benefit of others. However, it seems to imply that every person everywhere chose the particular trials/problems/difficulties that they would face because those all serve a greater purpose (this is particularly true in a scene where the cheer squad is gathered together venting and Kennedy says she doesn’t have any challenges. The coach then uses this moment to suggest that if Kennedy doesn’t view her life as holding any challenges than no one else ought to, which is powerful, but also problematic). I know that many people believe this, I just happen to not.
All that aside, I think the film largely succeeds at doing what it set out to do. Though, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the stake dance sequence, which was great—the baffling boy rotation during “Radioactive” with Kennedy dancing with five or six or seven different boys during that one song was fantastic. An unapologetically Mormon expression of sincere belief and that’s worth quite a bit.