So a while ago, I took myself and my mom to the movies and we saw Breakthrough, the next one of those Christian movies.

I will start this with a disclaimer: I grew up in a pretty conservative Christian environment (which honestly made no sense because my parents and I are some of the least conservative people? We just kept finding ourselves in those circles), so I’m familiar with the people this film is really marketed towards.

I also know, believe me I know, that Christian media…usually sucks. Not always! There are wonderful exceptions, but for the most part it ends up being extremely kitschy, preachy, and over-the-top Christian. Like, I know it’s Christian, but I don’t need to be slapped in the face by that fact every five minutes, please? I promise I won’t forget.

So while I went into it prepared for the worst, just to be safe, I was also just kind of excited because disclaimer part 2: I love feel-good stories. I love stories where even though awful stuff happens, it all works out by the end. I love stories full of hope. I love crying because of a good story. It’s just the way I am–and I know not everyone is like that.

All this to say, is this the best movie ever? HA. No.

But is it still good, despite being a piece of Christian media?

Read on!

THE PLOT

So the movie starts, ironically enough, with our main boy John (Marcel Ruiz) dreaming about being underwater. I think. It’s kind of like the intro to The Shape of Water where it’s unclear if the character is actually dreaming all this or if it’s just visual effects for the audience’s benefit.

Oh my god this is the Christian The Shape of Water isn’t it.

Anyway, John is woken up by his mother Joyce (Chrissy Metz) for breakfast. We then get a getting-ready montage set to Bruno Mars’s “Uptown Funk” (of course, the most fun part of the song, “hot damn!” Is censored out because…Christian media), which is what John is listening to under headphones. He sits down for breakfast with mom and dad (Brian, played by Josh Lucas) and Joyce immediately sets the tone for the movie by forcing the boys to hold hands and say grace over the food before they eat. Yeah. There’s a lot of that.

John has a bit of a strained relationship with his parents, giving them (especially Joyce) plenty of attitude whenever possible. He loves basketball and this one girl in his class, Abby (Maddy Martin) and that’s most of his character in a nutshell. Oh, and he was actually adopted when Joyce and Brian were on a missions trip, so he has some very understandable abandonment issues–this is all revealed when the class is assigned a “family tree” project.

Anyway, John is going to hang out with some buds overnight after a basketball game, and he is instructed to please, please keep his mother updated and let her know when to come pick him up.

A side plot that comes into importance more later on is that the only church in town I guess recently got a new pastor, Jason (Topher Grace), and he’s ~young~ and ~cool~ with an ~inappropriate haircut~ (sidenote: I looked up the actual people the characters are based on, and I gotta say, Movie Pastor’s hair is way toned down compared to Real Pastor’s hair. Real Pastor’s hair would certainly cause a church uproar–Movie Pastor just looks like he rolled around in too much hair gel). Joyce and Pastor Jason clash allllll the time, quite famously, and this conflict is important for later.

Back to the A Plot: John and his buddies decide to go frolic in the snow and on top of the frozen lake because the name of the movie isn’t Good Choices Were Made By All. All seems fine, although a nearby restaurant man asked them to please, please get off the ice. The boys mock him, continuing to frolic, until suddenly the ice breaks under John and he falls through, grabbing one of his friends on the way down (actually, I think they all end up in the water at some point). Through Unfortunate Circumstances, John ends up knocked out and sinking fast.

The fire department is on the way, complete with fireman Tommy (Mike Colter) who is the only fireman with a name, I think. Anyway, Tommy and Fireman #2 slide over to where John’s friends are waiting, and they manage to get them pulled to safety. Tommy and Fireman #2 enter the water, poking around for a little boy. At this point, John has been under the ice for about 10 minutes. They poke around for a bit, but just when they seem about to give up, Tommy hears a real unsettling voice telling him to “go back.” He does, and lo and behold they pull up John from under the ice!

At this point, Joyce–sitting at home waiting for a text from her son, mind you–gets a call from one of John’s friend’s moms, who was supposed to be watching them (YIKES). She frantically calls Brian, telling him to meet her at the hospital.

Then we catch up with the team of doctors assigned to saving John, and lemme tell ya, it is not an easy scene to watch. They try everything they can to revive John, but there is no pulse. They keep trying, and still…nothing.

By the time Joyce gets there, the doctors have essentially said it’s too late and she can go in to say goodbye to her son (at this point, both in the movie and in the real story, John had been without a pulse for about one hour). There’s an incredibly heart wrenching scene where Joyce looks at her little boy and has memories of him being a baby, and she just stands there screaming his name and begging God and the Holy Spirit to save her son.

It’s painful to watch, but just when it seems like it might be over…John has a pulse again.

Literally no one can believe it, and John is transferred to another hospital with an expert in drowning cases. The rest of the film is a found-family, full-of-feels, “dammit I’m crying again” fun fest as the characters gather around in different ways to pray for John’s recovery.

THE REVIEW

So let me start out by saying that I did like this movie. I like crying and I like movies with victory against impossible odds, sue me.

This movie is by no means a cinematic masterpiece, and it’s not supposed to be. It was created with a very specific demographic in mind, and I don’t think it was meant to convert anyone or make some huge statement.

It was created to tell an incredible story, and it does that. It gives awareness to the true story that inspired the book the film is based off of (and upon some research, the film actually follows the book really, really closely!). It makes you cry. It makes you appreciate how good people can be sometimes.

Now, it does preach a bit. Of course it does. Again, this was a movie created for a specific demographic: one that is used to being preached to and expects it. It’s just a part of the gig.

I do think the movie may have done a little better in the reviews if it hadn’t been as preachy as it is, and I think it could have been just as powerful if all that stuff was taken it and left more up to interpretation. But again: that’s not the point. This story is told through a Christian lens, so that’s what we get.

As such, the movie certainly isn’t for everyone.

But I would argue that if you’re up for it, it’s still a good time. I mean I was completely emotionally wrung-out by the end, but sometimes that’s a good thing! I walked away feeling good, which was such a welcome change after Pet Sematary (if you’re curious, you can check out that review here).

But what are the specifics of this movie that make it…what it is?

Let’s dive in to the details of Breakthrough–spoiler warning now in effect!

(I mean…it’s based on a true story so like…I mean if you haven’t guessed the ending by now…okay anyway)

THE MUSIC

I gotta be honest, I don’t recall most of the cinematic score from the film. I’m not 100% sure there was one? If you look for the soundtrack (at least on Spotify), you get “music from and inspired by” but none of it is cinematic instrumentals, it’s all like, pop songs. Christian pop songs!

That being said, there are two musical moments from the film we do have to talk about:

1. I feel like the entire church scene is only hilarious if you’re from a very specific demographic of Christians. I worked for a fairly conservative church that was desperate for more people, but hissed in retaliation at the slightest mention of doing anything more “young” and “hip” to pull in more people. I’m not even going to say that “hissed” is a strong word to use, I would not be surprised if there was actual hissing. Anyway, I recognized the looks on the faces of the older folks in the crowd at the rock band presentation of the worship music during the service. Pure horror. And when that rapper came onstage? SCANDALOUS. This isn’t even getting into the sermon afterwards where Pastor Jason brought up “The Bachelor” and sat on the floor like he was having a friendly, everyday conversation with the congregation. That was an incredibly well-directed scene because it hit home, and I’m sure it hit home for a lot of the audience who were familiar with that setting. Fun fact: if you, too, would like to scandalize your congregation, that rap version of Phil Wickham’s “This is Amazing Grace” is on the soundtrack!

2. The song used in the trailers for Breakthrough is called “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)” and it’s an extremely popular Hillsong work. I mean, praise bands will always jump on songs actually sung by female artists because much as we love singing harmony to the praise band leader Johnny Hip-Hair’s melody, sometimes we just want to sing melody. Please. Anyway, not only is it an apt song choice because of the obvious water metaphor, it’s also a song about having faith in extremely difficult circumstances, and trusting that there is a plan for all of it. So when pretty much the entire town shows up outside John’s hospital room with candles and love to sing their own rendition of the song, there are TEARS. EVERYWHERE. Keep in mind this is also set after Joyce finally lets go of control over her son’s life, trusting that things will be okay. It’s the night when John is taken off of the medically induced coma medication. There is no guarantee he will ever wake up. And suddenly, in the midst of it all, there’s the town, singing of hope. It’s a beautiful scene, and all I could think about is how powerful music is. Stop being cynical for a second and hear me out: sometimes there is nothing more powerful than a group of hurt individuals banding together and making music when words just don’t suffice anymore. Think of the people who sang “Ave Maria” outside of the burning Notre Dame. Think of the family singing Edelweiss in The Sound of Music. Think of the breathtaking performance of “Glory” at the Oscars that year (from Selma). I know the idea of spontaneous group-singing is mostly a joke thanks to…pretty much every musical ever, but I stand by the idea that when it’s done right and purely out of the goodness in our hearts, it’s more powerful than anything. Also, Taylor Mosby absolutely rocks the song.

Okay, feeling time over. Back to cynicism.

THE CHARACTERS

Because this is a drama full of feelings, the characters are a big emphasis.

The obvious show-stealer is Chrissy Metz’s Joyce. I mean, I knew she’d be great since she’s phenomenal in This Is Us (I mean I haven’t been watching lately so I don’t know if this is still true but I assume), but she really goes all out here. Joyce is an extremely detailed character–her good points are emphasized just as much as her weak points. She’s immediately presented as a no-nonsense mother full of fierce love and incredible determination. You love her instantly, so when characters react negatively to her, you get a little protective and want her to win even more. Jerk new pastor kicks her book club out of their room? UNACCEPTABLE. Weak-willed husband snaps at her for being rude to their also rude friends? RIDICULOUS. Teenage son doesn’t open up to her and refuses to acknowledge her? AWFU-okay to be fair, he spends most of the movie in a coma so I guess he gets a pass.

Joyce is, by no means, a perfect human. She feels things strongly, and it’s these feelings that affect everyone else around her. Her strong emotions when confronted with her son’s body tears at the hearts of the doctors listening to her. Her fierce determination and positivity scares the shit out of the doctors, as it should. Joyce breaks down a lot in this movie, and the audience does right along with her. This is a perfect example of a female character exploring and expressing emotions in a real way, and we love her for it. We connect with her because it all feels so real to us, too. The candlelight concert outside her son’s hospital room makes her cry, so we cry, too. Seeing her son’s body, remembering him as a baby, makes her lose it, and so do we.

My point is, Joyce is an extremely connectable character because the emotions that should come out of her story are not shied away from in any way. We can relate to Joyce because we can imagine feeling the way she does if we were ever in her situation (but like hopefully not, if ya know what I mean)–and not even just imagine it, because we see it throughout the film. Joyce is allowed to be a fully-fledged character, showing weakness as well as strength, and we can truly connect with her and love her for it. And you’re absolutely right this is leading up to me calling out *cough*ALITABATTLEANGEL*cough* yet again. I’m genuinely convinced that Joyce would absolutely win in a fight with Alita any day. Wanna know why? Because EMOTIONS. That or she’d just adopt her and make her a more likable individual, which I support.

(“But this comparison doesn’t work because Alita’s a robot so she doesn’t have actual emotions–” SHE HAD A BOYFRIEND. AND FRIENDS. AND GOT SAD OVER A DOG’S DEATH. Okay anyway)

Honestly, it’s a good thing that Joyce is so likable, or at least a strong character, because the other characters…ehhhhhh….

I mean, don’t get me wrong, you want John to wake up, but that’s mostly for Joyce’s benefit. John himself…I mean again, he’s in a coma most of the movie, but he’s just kinda…a kid. He plays basketball and was adopted. That’s…that’s his two character traits pretty much. And that’s fine, actually–while he’s technically the most important character, the movie isn’t actually about him, so it works.

Now, Brian, Joyce’s husband? Bleh. I mean I get it, he’s a foil to Joyce in that his emotions over the situation make him shut down instead of standing up. He straight-up tells Joyce that he can’t be in the room with her because he can’t deal with seeing John like that (*insert obscure Steel Magnolias reference here*). I guess the downside of Joyce being so developed is that Brian is really underdeveloped. He’s really just go-with-the-flow, “yeah my son can call me Brian that’s fine,” “I guess I’ll tell my wife to stop yelling at our friends”…yeah. Now, to be fair, he does later tell Joyce that he should have been in the room with her once they make up, but like…eh. I mean yeah, I guess he should have, but it was actually an interesting character trait of his that promptly got erased. NOW. Maybe that’s straight out of the book, which means it’s straight out of the true story. I get that I’m judging characters that are actually…real people. Kind of.

And of course, we have Pastor Jason. Ahhh, Pastor Jason. I’m even the young demographic he’s targeting as a pastor and I was cringing a lot with him. But it ends up working out–he’s cringeworthy and pretty unlikable in the beginning because he has to have this sideplot with Joyce. It’s made clear that neither Jason or Joyce actually like each other all that much, but when faced with this impossible crisis, it’s really refreshing to see Jason step up as much as he does. He stays there, supportive, like an old friend. He’s just as excited as Joyce is when John squeezes her hand. He’s determined to help in anyway he can, and it’s a really nice way to humanize him.

The other character who steals the show in any way is Tommy Shine, and I think that’s mostly because of Mike Colter’s performance. Tommy is the guy who doesn’t believe in God, but supposedly heard God telling him to “go back” in the water that day. What I appreciate is that Tommy doesn’t have a full conversion to Christianity arc–he’s questioning things, sure, but he isn’t full-out born-again Christian by the end. So part of what I like about Tommy is his character arc, but the other thing I love is just…every time he’s on screen? Look, Mike Colter is great-looking, which is part of it! But I’ve been in the chorus of enough shows to know when someone has developed a full backstory for what can easily be a throw-away character. We may not know Tommy’s backstory, why he’s an atheist, why he became a firefighter, why the voice he heard bothers him so much…but you can tell that Mike Colter knows because he thought about it, and you see that in his face every time he’s onscreen.

The rest of the characters are kinda…I mean they’re there! The drowning doctor at the new hospital is okay. John has a couple friends from school who show up every now and then (one of them (Taylor Mosby), again, absolutely kills the lead vocals on “Oceans”). Again, none of the characters are anywhere near as developed as Joyce is, but that kind of works…it is based off of the real Joyce’s book, after all.

THE CHRISTIANITY OF IT ALL

It’s a huge part of the film, so we get to talk about it!

So like I touched on above, I do think that it’s possible if Breakthrough had been less…overtly Christian, it may have done better with reviewers. With a quick Google search, this seems to be another one of those movies that critics are overall hating and audiences are overall liking.

However, the point of the film is not simply to tell an incredible true story; it’s to tell an incredible true story through a Christian lens. I mean, the real people are Christians, so of course their movie counterparts are going to be as well. I guess I’d still say there’s a way to do it without also preaching to the audience, but again, the intended audience isn’t necessarily your typical moviegoer, and I understand that.

Scenes from the movie like the praise band scene, the many prayer scenes over John, the candlelight song, and the ending church scene where God’s love is credited as the ultimate savior are more necessary for the Christian side than for actual storytelling purposes. As such, I can’t really grade this as a movie because it’s not meant to be a typical movie.

Again, having grown up in this community, I’ve seen my fair share of Christian media. Awful, preachy, and sometimes downright boring Christian media. I know it’s out there, believe me. What I will say for this film is that I don’t think you can categorize it with the rest of all that–it stands on its own in the sense that, yes, there’s a lot of Christianity, and it probably won’t make sense to anyone not Christian who sees it, but it’s also genuinely well-done. The characters are not there to present a Christian story and thus simply be bland archetypes of actual people, they are there to tell a true story that just happens to be a pretty Christian one.

I do think it could just as well not be a Christian story, if it weren’t for one thing…

THE ENDING

So as you’ve probably guessed, John does wake up by the end. Not only that, he somehow makes a full, perfect recovery. Mr. Drowning Doctor (Dennis Haysbert) tells Joyce that his recovery is genuinely impossible. This kid was underwater for about 20 minutes, without a pulse for another 40…there should be things like severe brain-swelling and crazy organ trauma, but there is nothing.

Because he’s suddenly perfect and fine, John goes back to school where he’s greeted with full fanfare. It all seems just too good to be true…and it is.

John’s teacher keeps him after class to ask him “why you?”

Her husband died not long ago and she doesn’t understand why John was able to make this miraculous recovery when her husband didn’t. After all, she believed in God too!

John, being…a kid, doesn’t know how to answer this. The teacher seems to come back to her senses, apologizes, and sends him off.

Still thinking about this, John walks by his locker, covered in sticky notes. As the camera scrolls down, we catch glimpses of notes that say things like “welcome back!” And “miracle boy” and “glad you’re okay!”…but then we see one that says “why are you okay when my mom is still in the hospital?”

John turns around and suddenly doesn’t see his classmates in such a friendly light anymore, because he’s not sure who is actually happy he’s okay and who is asking “why you?”

There’s actually not much payoff to this scene, unfortunately. John runs into Tommy, thanks him for saving him, and then we cut to the entire town being in church while John and his parents tell their story. Pastor Jason does this thing where he asks various people who had a hand in helping John to stand up. It’s an overwhelming sight for both the audience and John, who breaks down crying as he thanks them. He finds his teacher in the crowd and looks at her as he plainly says “I don’t know why me…”

Aaaaaaaand then it ends with them all saying “but God’s love is strongest and got us through this we’d be nowhere without God’s love yaaaaaay!”

It’s preachy, okay?

I do think, however, this whole “why you?” Sequence is fascinating, and it wouldn’t be as striking without all the Christianity leading up to it. After all, if you’re at all familiar with the church, it’s common to hear miracle stories like these, but also know someone who lost someone in a similar situation. If we all have the same faith, why do some get “saved” while others perish?

Just like in the movie, it’s never answered. We don’t know. As hopeful as the film is, it does make sure to throw this at you, which honestly, I kind of appreciate. I constantly complain (or at least, I will be complaining a lot in my Avengers: Endgame review) about how lately it seems like creators are trying to instill “realism” into their fantasy creations–this realism here is applied in the mystery of why John miraculously survived when others have not. The thing is, the realism here works because John’s story, as unrealistic as it seems, is real. This miraculous, hopeful recovery is a real story. This mystery that’s applied, then, is a reminder that yes, not all stories end happily, and we genuinely don’t know why.

In an age where lately we seem to hear more and more about Christians being…awful, and convinced they have all the answers, this movie takes the refreshing stance of: no. We don’t have all the answers. It’s frustrating. It’s amazing. It’s unfortunate. It’s ridiculous.

Buuuuuut remember kids, it’s all thanks to God’s love!! 😀

(Okay I’m done being cynical about the preachiness, I swear.

No seriously, this movie was absolutely not as preachy as it could have been…as some of its predecessors have been…truuuuust me.)

Alright fam, we’re gonna try something a little different here, where I attempt to sort of illustrate my favorite and “oof” scenes, a la my incredible drawings from my Us soundtrack post.

So, without further ado…

FAVORITE MOMENT

I cannot speak enough about the candlelight song scene. I mean I thought I was done crying by that point, and then suddenly Joyce notices the candles from the window so you knew something was coming and then it’s all their friends together standing there in support and then they’re all singing and I JUST.

I LOVE IT.

OKAY.

“OOF” MOMENT

I’m torn between the scene where the three boys are playing on the ice despite being told not to, and Pastor Jason’s initial introduction.

I mean, I know all the ice stuff had to happen for plot reasons but HONESTLY. You know what’s coming, so watching them frolic around beforehand is just kind of uncomfortable and they’re such fools and I just…

The other scene is when Pastor Jason first enters the picture. Joyce and her book club have a room reserved, like it says on the dang sign-up sheet on the door, and Pastor Jason–in the most incredibly over-the-top rude way possible–kicks them out. Again, I’ve spent time in churches like this, and if the new pastor did something like that to a very well-respected member of the congregation? RIOTS. RIOTS, I TELL YOU.

Also, like, I know we’re not really supposed to like him yet either, but wow. He was just a straight-up jerk in that scene. I’m glad he got redeemed because…jeez.

SHOULD YOU TAKE YOURSELF TO SEE THIS MOVIE?

So…okay. As I’ve said multiple times, this is not a movie that is meant for the general public. It knows its audience and it performs beautifully for them.

If you’re in that demographic, I really think you’ll enjoy the film and you should definitely see it.

If you’re not in that demographic but you like crying a lot, I do think you can look past all the in-your-face Christianity and just bask in Chrissy Metz’s performance as well as all of your tears.

If this really doesn’t sound like your thing at all, I get it. I do.

For me? I liked it. It’s no cinematic masterpiece, but that’s not the intention. And again, I love crying, so…yeah.

All in all, I give Breakthrough…

3.5/5 HEARTBEAT MONITOR READING THINGIES!!

It’s not perfect–but I still think it’s good.

TRAILERS TO WATCH OUT FOR

Alright…y’all. We have to talk about the Downton Abbey movie.

I’m beyond excited (I mean, we know how much I love crying!! Pair that with British accents, incredible costumes, delightful characters, and dramatic exploits????). Okay. We’ve talked about it.

Overcomer looks like it’s the next Christian movie slated and…yeah I’ll probably see it. Again. I love crying. Plus, it’s also a sports movie? About track??? I almost did track, therefore, I can relate!

(I can’t actually but I can pretend)

I can’t believe I haven’t actually talked about The Lion King yet?? Or maybe I have and I forgot? That’s possible. Anyway, I really, really hope it’s good, plus…John Oliver is Zazu, guys. AND THEY KEEP SHOWING ZAZU IN TRAILERS WITHOUT LETTING US HEAR HIM. LET HIM SPEAK!!

Okay anyway.

Speaking of crying, guess who will definitely be seeing A Dog’s Journey?????

It’s me.

Finally, we have The Sun is Also a Star, which…has anyone else been getting ads for that before every single YouTube video ever?? Like don’t get me wrong, it looks great, and I know I’ve heard awesome things about the book, but like chill out, fam. Just a bit.

That about does it for this review! If this sounds like your kinda thing, I do recommend taking yourself to the movies and seeing Breakthrough. If nothing else, it’s just a nice feel-good movie in the midst of a really not feel-good world, and sometimes? We just need stuff like that.