The Falls: Covenant of Grace

The third and most assured film in a trilogy that began with 2012's The Falls (followed by The Falls: Testament of Love the next year), The Falls: Covenant of Grace is the final chapter in a tale of the love between two men who met as young Mormon missionaries. Although drawn to one another, RJ (Nick Ferrucci) and Chris (Benjamin Farmer) have nevertheless stumbled throughout their relationship because of the prominent role of the Mormon church in their lives. (In the second film, Chris—son of a church elder—married a straight woman and fathered a child before fully coming out as a gay man.) Covenant finds RJ and Chris still unable to live together, yet fully dedicated to one another. Residing in different cities, the two lead separate lives but are due for an exploratory visit. When Chris flies out to join RJ in his Pacific Northwest home for a couple of days, they instantly realize that Chris's continuing strong faith in the Latter-Day Saints—which RJ does not share, given the church's discriminatory policies toward homosexuals—is an obstacle. A death in Chris's family brings everything to a head as once-implacable hearts and minds begin evolving in the direction of love. Co-writer and director Jon Garcia has grown as a confident filmmaker since the series began, and the actors have deepened their understanding of their maturing characters. Recommended. (T. Keogh)