Un'altra buona recensione,che attribuisce la riuscita del film (o la parte riuscita del film) alla capacità di Gerry di dare profondità al personaggio...
http://www.aurorasentinel.com/email_push/l...1cc4c002e0.htmlPosted: Thursday, October 6, 2011 11:45 pm
CHRISTOPHER HARROP, Staff Writer | 0 comments
You can’t blame a good storyteller from embellishing a little now and then.
So when it comes to the real-life story of “Machine Gun Preacher” Sam Childers — the ex-con who raised hell, found Jesus, went to Africa and saved a lot of lives — you know the Hollywood treatment is going to take a few liberties.
Thankfully, the solid performances of Gerard Butler (as Childers) and Michael Shannon (“Revolutionary Road”) as his recovering junkie friend Donnie help ground the more fantastical aspects of Childers’ compelling life and times.
Our introduction to Sam comes as he’s leaving jail. He goes home to find his ex-stripper wife Lynn (Michelle Monaghan) is a born-again Christian; despite being none too pleased by this, Sam will be hard-pressed to not be changed by having his family back and a new life ahead of him.
Shannon and Butler each transform their characters beyond their wild days in brilliant fashion — Sam’s unease sitting in church in a dress shirt before being baptized is simple yet speaks volumes about the rough-edged Childers, who visits north Uganda on a mission trip and finds inspiration there.
“I know it sounds corny, but God spoke to me,” he says after coming home. Having seen the poor conditions faced by the Sudanese, he’s determined to build a church and go back to Africa — this time with boots for the Sudanese liberation army.
The conflict in Africa never overpowers the story, even though it provides striking images of poverty and violence. The film doesn’t shy away from framing the battles as a dispute between the Muslim north and Christian south, but the key to the story is not understanding the religious and geopolitical underpinnings of what’s happening in Africa — it’s understanding the faith Childers has in trying to help those caught in the middle of the fighting.
Thankfully, the story’s focus on Childers (and Butler’s portrayal of him) give “Machine Gun Preacher” a stunning resonance. Sam’s blistering sermons in the church he built underscore the anger and insecurity he brings home from the horrors he’s witnessed and the hypocrisy he confronts from parsimonious businessmen who won’t make the kinds of sacrifices he does.
And for all the good Childers does, the film doesn’t neglect the pain his absence creates back at home. We see the effects through the eyes of Sam’s daughter, Paige (Madeline Carroll), who is caught between the love she has for her father and the stress imposed through his convictions.
Director Marc Forster (“Quantum of Solace,” the upcoming “World War Z”) does an adequate job of effecting the right mood for these actors to sell themselves as real-life characters. The dark realism early on — namely, a raid on a south Sudanese village and, later, a drug house robbery by Sam and Donnie — paves the way for Sam to travel the all-too-familiar road of redemption, as uneasy as it is.
But above all, Butler’s performance gives great depth to “Machine Gun Preacher.” Sam is a man lost in the beginning, and for all the confidence he inspires and all the tough talk he delivers while preaching, he is just as adrift when his plans — in his eyes, the Lord’s work — go awry.
The proper word for it is “deft,” which is not a label I would affix to the dramatic range Butler has shown up to this point. “Machine Gun Preacher” may have been better saved for the documentary treatment if not for this promising turn by Butler.
“Machine Gun Preacher” is rated R for violent content, language, drug use and sexuality. Running time: 123 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
