Wildflower (2016)

While this film won't be winning any major awards in the near future, the plot kept me guessing, the acting was solid, and the message was thoroughly uplifting. A very solid Christian film.

Overall, this movie is well done- not a blockbuster hit, but worth watching. I would say it is a drama much more than it would be a thriller. It reminds me of a TV show soap opera but a lot more wholesome. It has a sense of balance between dialogue, thrill, and redemption. If you look past the stale screenplay, it turns out to be a pretty decent movie. This would be a great movie for all those people who flip on the TV and start watching the first soap opera they come across- I know you're out there! Instead, you can watch this and feel a lot better about yourself :) I appreciate how realistically dark the subject matter gets, and how it doesn't force God into the whole business like an unrealistic band-aid to the problems that are happening. It gets at the confusion we feel when faced with issues like death, anxiety, lack of trust etc. and shows how difficult/ impossible it is to see God in all of it. Plot twists kept me on my toes and guessing, and I found myself drawn into the rising action toward the end. The movie left me feeling good that I had watched it.

The acting in this film is terrible, but it is possible that the actors are doing their best with what has to be one of the worst scripts I have ever encountered. The hack who wrote this ought to be ashamed of themselves. Nobody in the film speaks like an actual human being, and it relies on a constant droning voice over narration which is hardly necessary and could be made entirely obsolete with the most minor of script adjustments. The only thing I can give the writer credit for is the fact that it was at least 15 minutes into the movie before it became abundantly clear that it was a soft sell Christian sermon disguised as a mystery.Of course it wasn't a very good mystery either. The only mystery was what the mystery actually was, as it danced around that issue for way too long. That failed to be intriguing at all, possibly due to the ridiculous narration and the constant suggestions that the answers might be found at church.Don't waste your time.

I really liked this movie. The main character has some voice over narration which is a bit made-for-TV, but there is also a strong undercurrent of tension which is what really pulled me in. Faith and God are strong themes here, but not so much that it detracts from the story if that's not your cup of tea. It also deals with strong mental illness themes, especially in the realm of trusting your own mind (or not). It seems at times like the movie can't decide if it's a thriller or a made-for-TV drama. It's quite tense, but there are odd moments that are a bit cheesy. All the same I enjoyed it.