Love's Abiding Joy

Directed by Michael Landon Jr., the Christian-themed Love's Abiding Joy seems very much like an episode of his father's much-beloved TV series Little House on the Prairie. Based on the fourth novel in a series written by Christian author Janette Oke, the film introduces us to 19th-century settlers Missie (Erin Cottrell) and Willie LaHaye (Logan Bartholomew), whose faith is severely tested when a lengthy drought wreaks havoc on their cattle ranch and one of their children dies. Reluctantly, Willie accepts an offer to become sheriff—a job that entails enforcing the evictions of friends and neighbors who've fallen behind on their mortgage payments to local land baron Samuel Doros (John Laughlin). So far, so much like a typical Western, but the faith-based emphasis on Christian charity and the hope for redemption becomes pronounced once Willie's adopted son Jeff (Drew Tyler Bell) develops a chaste crush on finishing-school student Collette (Mae Whitman), who just happens to be the daughter of Doros. As period pieces go, Love's Abiding Joy isn't especially effective: anachronistic dialogue, curiously modern hairstyles, and awkward costuming destroy the illusion of time and place. But Landon's film isn't about historical fidelity, but rather about the virtues of faith and forgiveness, topics generally ignored by Hollywood. A strong optional purchase. (E. Hulse)