The Shack — Movie Review
First, from Wikipedia: The Shack is a 2017 American Christian drama film directed by Stuart Hazeldine and written by John Fusco, Andrew Lanham and Destin Cretton, based on the 2007 novel of the same name by William P. Young
I saw the movie on Netflix only last night but it’s affect on me got me to start thinking about writing this (much belated) review.
My background: I have never been attracted by Christianity or any religion since the age of eight. It was that year when I got off the Sunday School bus and told my mother I was never going back. (It was a Baptist Sunday school which is what my mother’s religion and that of her parents and grand parents were.). It began with my announcement and the subsequent involvement of my (forcibly estranged) Catholic father. Regardless of their warnings and implied threats: they couldn’t change my decision and I stuck firmly with my position until fairly recently.
It’s said that there are no atheists in foxholes, meaning of course that the nearness of personal annihilation “inspires” one to start believing in a Higher Super Natural Power. But I’ve never been in combat conditions and other high risk situations never prompted me to change my reasoning.
Movie Synopsis: The movie begins with a male narrator telling us, “Who would believe that a man spent an entire weekend with God? In a shack. And not just any shack, this was The Shack. What I’m about to tell you is a little on the fantastic side, well, it’s a lot on the fantastic side. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s untrue.”
From there it cuts to a boy jumping from a school bus and running up a gravel driveway to his home, clearly a farmhouse. From the farmhouse can be heard to sounds of breaking glass and a male voice shouting. The camera switches to the front door where a man is physically abusing a women- the boy’s father and mother. We get a look good enough to tell you, this is about a boy who grew up in a too typical violent home situation. From there there’s another jump cut to the bedroom where the now grownup man is jerked awake by a nightmare: he’s reliving his murder of his own father.
{This is where the movie snags me perfectly like a hooked fish because that’s too similar to my own boyhood and later manhood.}
Grievous loss: is another thing I share with Mack, the central character.
There are differences of course, no two people experience life exactly the same way, but that’s how I came to question the whole idea of God and religions in general. Why, if God is merciful, does He allow such pain and suffering and why, if God is Just does he not stop or punish the wicked? The movie answers this very question which I share with Mack.
I was actually shedding tears a few times during the movie. I almost never let a movie affect me that deeply. I assume there must be millions of others who have reacted and will react the same way. The movie has some clever twists involving God, Jesus and an angel Mack spends time with at the shack. Those are the artistic innovations which add to the story. It’s a well plotted, well acted movie by a very good cast.
Small wonder that it is trending in the top 10% of movies on Netflix.
But finally, I disagree that the movie is “a Christian” movie. There have been reviews, particularly by Catholics and Protestants which condemn this movie as being “anti- Christian” so I’m confirmed in my opinion. It IS an alternative to the Christian belief system(s).