"Abel's Field"
DVD Review
AFFIRM/Provident Films
Rated PG
Release Date: Jan 22, 2012
Source: sent by publicist
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
About Abel's Field: (from the publicist)
Left motherless by tragedy and abandoned by his father, high school senior Seth McArdle (Samuel Davis) faces enormous pressure as he strives to support his little sisters. At school, he endures the daily bullying of the football team. But fighting back only finds him singled out for punishment and assigned to an after-school work detail under the supervision of the reserved groundskeeper, Abel (SOUL SURFER’S Kevin Sorbo). Much to his surprise, Seth discovers that Abel may be the only one who truly understands his struggles. As dark times lure Seth toward desperate measures, the reluctant Abel may be the one person who can point him back toward the light.
My Review:
I really enjoyed this movie about a young man struggling through hard times to do the right thing for himself and his little sisters. The film does feel a bit heavy at times, the subject matter here is tough. But with a good dose of humor and a lot of hope, the film is an uplifting one.
My favorite part of the film was the character of Seth and the actor (Samuel Davis) who portrayed him. It would have been easy in a faith-based film to make the lead character come across as too good to be true or a goody two shoes. But Seth is very believable as a high school senior who is just trying his best to do the right thing in a very rough situation. Davis' acting is spot on and I really think he holds the film together and gives it that special spark to make audiences really invested in his character, as well as the story.
The movie really does a great job of portraying Seth's relationship with his 7 year old twin sisters. The twins are really sweet without ever being used for the "aww" factor. They seem like real little girls who have some idea of the problems they face, even though Seth does try to protect them from as much as he can. You can almost feel the love between the siblings, their relationship seems so real.
This is a quality production, with great acting and film making. The story itself did have a few plot holes here and there and some aspects weren't as developed as I would have liked them to be. I enjoyed Seth's story more so than Abel's, so I would have liked to see some other aspects of Seth's storyline expanded. I would have liked the quarterback angle to have come full circle, I thought that some things were hinted at that never happened. I also liked the addition of Seth's girlfriend, but her character and the romance wasn't totally fleshed out like I thought it could have been.
This is a film based on faith, so there is a lot of talk of faith, church, and praying. I did not feel that the message was preachy though. It was never about preaching to do certain things or not do certain things, or anything with a political agenda. The message was simply that with God, we are not alone, and that it's okay to ask for help when you need it.
Bottom Line: An uplifting film about facing diversity, with great acting, characters you will root for, and a lovely production.
GIVEAWAY RULES:
Propeller has generously provided a DVD copy of "Abel's Field" for one lucky reader of my blog!
All you have to do is follow my blog publicly and fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Please follow publicly or I can't tell that you are following :)
Rules:
- International
- Must be a follower to enter
- DVD will be mailed out by the publicist, In the Hammock is not responsible for lost or missing DVD's or the time it takes to receive the DVD
- Must be 18 or over
Thanks to everyone for entering! Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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