Catching Hearts

Three storylines connect in F.C. Rabbath's Christian drama about lost souls. Mark A. Maple plays Mark Gavin, a popular author and atheist whose new book denouncing religion is landing him on talk shows even as it masks an inconvenient truth: Mark has had a recent experience that has secretly led him to believe in God. While Mark is struggling to suppress this epiphany, young Dean (Michael Varde) is battling with his father (James M. McMurtry Jr.) over the former's addiction problems and destructive behavior. Meanwhile, Rachel (Jada Sanders), a young woman in a trying relationship with an uncaring boyfriend, loses sight of a child she's babysitting, which results in the little girl's disappearance. Dean and Rachel turn to Mark's book for advice about self-reliance, even as Mark's anti-God façade is inexorably crumbling. All three characters have pivotal encounters with a park maintenance man (Henry Tisdale), a God-like figure keeping order in a green kingdom, dispensing advice and reading human hearts. Rabbath directs the action effectively, although the cast is uneven, and—as sometimes happens in Christian-based feature dramas—the story seems to abruptly stop when the subject of faith comes up. But for the most part this is an enjoyable movie that is recommended for larger religious fiction collections and a strong optional purchase elsewhere. (T. Keogh)