Courageous the movie screening Sept 15, 2011 in Phoenix, AZ Credits: KPXQ radio station
Film review: Courageous: Honor Begins at Home
Executive Producers: Michael Catt, Jim McBride
Producer/co-writer: Stephen Kendrick
Director/co-writer: Alex Kendrick
Production Company: Sherwood Pictures, the moviemaking ministry of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia.
(Facing the Giants, Flywheel, Fireproof)
Running time: 2 hours
Release in theaters: September 30, 2011
Rating: PG 13 for violent chase scenes and mention of drug dealing
A truck is stolen
Nathan Hayes (Ken Bevel) is getting gas when his truck is stolen by T.J. (T.C. Stallings), the huge and muscular head of a notorious criminal and drug dealing gang in Albany, Georgia. Hayes runs in pursuit, grabs the steering wheel and hangs on, fighting T.J. for control of the vehicle. A wild, erratic ride ensues, with Hayes’ feet dragging the pavement and nearly getting clipped by oncoming motorists until the driver swerves, throwing Hayes to the ground and running into a fence.
Alex Kendrick, writer, director, actor in Courageous, seen here in Facing the Giants Credits: Photobucket/umgirl2000
Courageous provides many heartgripping scenarios throughout the film, from hard-hitting chase and gunfight scenes to poignant moments dealing with loss and grief. Daily life struggles are interwoven with amazing spots of humor and insight,
Starting a new job as a sheriff’s deputy, Hayes meets his co-workers at the scene of the crime. His team includes his partner, David Thomson (Ben Davies), Adam Mitchell (Alex Kendrick), and Shane Fuller (Kevin Downes). The men are challenged by the sheriff to take heed to the effects of poor or absentee fathering which they daily encounter in the criminal activity of the town, and spend time loving their kids.
A girl is pursued
Nathan Hayes’ early life is teased out through the film, showing a chaotic family, multiple siblings from different mothers, a father who left before Nathan was born, and a troubled path that almost ended in a gang relationship for the young man. These are typical earmarks of a man who becomes an abuser or an absentee father himself.
Hayes has a 15-year-old daughter, Jade (Taylor Hutcherson), who catches the eye of Derek, a 17-year-old who has just been gang-beaten as his initiation into T.J.’s “family”. It is intimated that under different circumstances, Jade could have become enamored with Derek and gotten drawn into the gang setting. There, it is likely that she might be raped by multiple group members, and possibly forced to prostitute herself. There is much more money and far less risk in selling girls than in dealing drugs, and many of the underworld organizations have gone into sex trafficking.
Fortunately, Hayes has already dealt with some of his own scarring and brokenness through his relationship with Jesus Christ. He is committed to providing for his family, treating them with honor and dignity, and learning to be a good dad. Catalyzed by a tragic loss in the Mitchell family, the team of men press in to discovering practical ways to lead and love their families, in spite of hard choices that they will be called to make. Hayes purposes to cultivate his relationship with his daughter, and asks and is given permission to protect her heart.
Lives are changed
Walking in the proper responsibility of a father, with vulnerability and love and wisdom is not an easy process. For most on the team, lives are changed for the positive–the deputies themselves, their families and people in their circle. For one, this commitment reveals the heart and poor choices along the journey, which give place to further brokenness.
Courageous speaks to men and families of a higher way to live that goes counter to the culture. It is a message of urgency and of hope that the culture can be changed, and the fathers hold the key. As eloquently stated in a paraphrase from the film, “If fathers were living out their God-given roles, most of the criminal activity we see everyday would be non-existent.”
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