When this film first dropped, it seemed like it was just another faith based film. Those always depend on the budget, and often can vary widely in quality. Last year I saw a few faith based films that weren’t terrible. This really isn’t faith based. It just happens to have a guy who attends church, and later in the film a church parking lot is used. Otherwise, this feels less like Miracles From Heaven and more about a redemption story mixed in with a perpetually tragic family drama.

American Idol alumni, and current Jack reacher, Alan Ritchson stars as a father working to provide a life for his family, but facing an uphill battle after the loss of his wife, which has left him in an insurmountable amount of medical debt. Things get worse when his daughter needs medical attention as well, or she will die, further adding to the financial stress for the family. Watching this story unfold, is a hairdresser with a heart of gold (Hilary Swank) who is battling her own demons, including alcoholism, and sees this as an opportunity to do something good. So, even though she’s not a friend of the family, or related, she takes on the task of helping them raise money, and doing whatever she can to try and save this little girls life.

If you wrote this film off because it looked like some sentimental faith nonsense, you were wrong. It’s OK. I almost did the same thing. This is a screenplay by Meg Tilly and Kelly Freidman-Craig, the latter of that duo just wrote and directed last years terrific Are You There God, It’s me Margaret. So, this film might be a little better written than you would expect. The direction is still a bit schmaltzy, but it really feels like Craig has something to say about our healthcare industry far more than she does about faith or God.

Ritchson delivers a fine performance, but Swank is the one who carries this, after being stuck in crappy films like The Good Mother and one-season wonders like Alaska Daily and Away. She reminds people here that she has two Oscars, and while this isn’t even nearly her best performance, it is a reminder of what she’s capable of in terms of nuance, and hopefully will get her back on the right track and out of crappy projects. Nancy Travis is also nice playing Ritchson’s mother.

The audio description by Deluxe, narrated by Marcia Bartenetti, matches the tone of the film, and does a nice job navigating the emotional choices made by the actors. there isn’t much to look at here, until the final act of the film which takes place in a snowstorm. Then, there’s more action and scenery to get into, but the meat of the film is delivering these performances to the audience, so the emotional weight of the subject matter can be felt.

I was surprised by this. certainly there are bettter films this year, but often we need to watch things to pass the time, and this is really wholesome drama for the family that at least packs some kind of an emotional punch.

Final Grade: B