Directed by Robert Kevin Townsend. Starring Lori Heuring, Antonio David Lyons, Clayne Crawford, Tucker Smallwood, and Patrick Bergen. Drama. Synopsis: A young woman who is inexplicably pregnant, and her sterile boyfriend, decide to seek an abortion and are approached by some strange people who want to pay them to carry the child to term, in addition to befriending a stoic gas station attendant who seems to have special gifts and his seemingly paranoid father who preaches loudly on a home made radio.
Now this movie is, to me, the epitome of what a small budget film can be that has a good script, good acting, and good direction. I watched this film without, literally, having heard anything about it and therefore having no expectations one way or another. Its a very good, character driven movie that I think most serious movie fans will enjoy.
False Prophets has all the elements of a small budget film, but it never lets that stand in its way and, instead, uses them to its advantage to tell a story that is not meant to make you visit fantasy or totally suspend your disbelief. Hey, there is a time and place for those types of films, but there is also nothing wrong with an interesting story being told on film, and that is just what we are treated to with this movie.
The film starts with us seeing a small child being left on the doorstep of a home, and quickly forwards us thirty-three years into the future in Atlanta where we see some religious leaders talking of a young woman who is not only fixed, but is living with a man known to be sterile and, yet, has become pregnant with an expected due date in late December.
We soon meet Maggie (Lori Heuring) a hard working waitress who is struggling with the news of her pregnancy and how to tell boyfriend Wade (Clayne Crawford) who is the definition of a good ole boy who is perpetually in between jobs and is over reliant on Maggie's income to make ends meet.
After the decision to get an abortion, the young couple soon is approached by a seemingly benevolent stranger named Karl (Patrick Bergen) who claims to be able to broker a deal for Maggie to forego her abortion and let a nice young power couple take care of the child without all the hassle and red tape of an adoption agency. Oh, and by the way, Maggie and Wade stand to make a cool fifty thousand in the deal.
As you might guess, Wade is gung ho and Maggie is still torn due to her moral concerns and uncertainty that she does not want this child. The movie's main turning point is the meeting with Maggie, Wade, Karl, and the couple, who Maggie soon sense might not be all they are supposed to be.
Maggie's desire to back out of the arrangement leads to her meeting a benevolent stranger named Emmanuel (Antonio David Lyons) and his salty-language father, Isaiah (Tucker Smallwood) who help Maggie through the action points of the story and give her a fresh perspective on the decision that she still has to make.
I'm being deliberately vague here because, to tell you how good I think the story is would be impossible without being too much of a spoiler. I can say that the film deals with issues that are at the front of almost everyone's consciousness, either if they follow the news or have been in that situation themselves: unwanted pregnancy, abortion, religious zealotry, individual conscience and spiritual beliefs.
What works so well for the story is two things: 1) the fact that Townsend (Not to be confused with the Robert Townsend of Hollywood Shuffle fame) gives us a lot to think about in a practical and moral sense, through the use of his story, direction, and symbolism, but he does not force feed us his own personal viewpoint nor is it ever crystal clear just who the real zealots, or false prophets are, which is very much like real life 2) the five main characters, who all do a wonderful job.
Heuring, of course, has to carry the film and she does: she is likable, empathetic, believable, and brings energy to her role. She will remind you of someone you know and you want to root for her, even when her actions irritate you. Clayne Crawford and Patrick Bergen hit grand slams in their roles, again crucial to the story since they are the primary people that Heuring is reacting to during the first portion of the story. You won't necessarily like Crawford or
Smallwood and Lyons have it tougher than the other main characters, in a way, because they are introduced to us relatively late in the film with almost no build up as to their motivations. This is o.k. with regard to their roles in the story, but harder on the actors and, again, they both come through with flying colors. Smallwood's character is the loud mouthed, borderline crazy older character that we all know in some part of our lives. You know, disregard 50% of everything they say but ignore the other 50% at your own risk because...well, crazy or not, they're pretty smart. The trick is knowing which 50% to listen to.
Antonio Lyons' Emmanuel make us believe that there is something special, if unexplained, about this guy and he is the moral compass of the story, and a big factor in Maggie's ultimate decision.
Its not a perfect film, I could have used just a little more discussion or explanation of the complete motivation of Patrick Bergen's character as well as his followers, as well as the gifts that Antonio Lyons possesses. But, it is clear that Townsend did not want to wrap this all up in a nice bow for us to open, and it does work as it is, giving us plenty to think about and blanks to fill in on our own.
Also, the DVD features his (Townsend's) director's commentary, which is very interesting in hearing the thoughts of a first time director as well as, maybe, answering some of the questions you are sure to have. It's very clear that this wonderful little film comes directly from Townsend's heart, which is probably why it came out so good.
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