Sin problems

Letters to God highlights what goes wrong with many faith-based dramas | Megan Basham

Dale Stroud/Possibility Pictures

As I've revealed in these pages before, I'm always leery of reviewing the so-called faith-based dramas that Christian production companies send me. Christian film reviewers don't generally enjoy criticizing the work of fellow believers, and our objections tend toward the redundant: The performances aren't great; the production values aren't up to Hollywood standards; nobody but the choir is going to enjoy the preachy story.

But none of these things are what really keeps Christian films from reaching audiences outside the pews. Plenty of mainstream directors have created gripping movies with just as little talent and money at their disposal. And plenty such films are just as pushy with their agendas.

No, the reason that equally low-budget secular films are often so much more compelling is because they get sin right—the lure of it, the cost of it, and the beauty human beings are capable of when, for brief moments, they rise above it. They're likewise exacting in exploring variations of emotional pain. These depictions can be enriching, but what they don't show is a lasting solution to the sin and suffering question.