Before Dune, Daniel saw a trailer for Redeeming Love. After the trailer played, he leaned over to his friend and said, “I think that’s supposed to be a sexy Christian movie.”. So, here we are talking about that “sexy Christian movie”. Boy, there sure is a lot to talk about here.
Topics:
- Melvin compares Redeeming Love to an awkward interaction he witnessed at work.
- Redeeming Love contains some rather extreme and transgressive content despite having a serious lack of context.
- Daniel details some background for Redeeming Love, author/screenwriter Francine Rivers, and director D.J. Caruso.
- Redeeming Love is loosely based on the Minor Prophet book Hosea from the Bible.
- Each character feels devoid of personality which may work in both a shorter and more artistic film than Redeeming Love ends up being.
- Where Redeeming Love works is where it leans heavily into its “inspiration”, but even then, that’s not success from talent, that’s success from… copying Scripture.
- Discussing the comparatively excessive conveniently censored nudity in Redeeming Love.
- Additionally, discussing all the other crazy content that borders on “Christian misery porn.”
- As we continue our discussion, the 2+hour runtime of the film continues to be a recurring issue.
- At least the sets and outfits are fun!
- Questioning why the film didn’t display the complicated dynamics of sexuality (gentle self-sacrifice vs aggressive selfishness) in a way that can be both edifying to its performers and beneficial to the narrative structure.
- One glaring issue throughout the film is each character’s severe lack of agency.
- Observations from other reviews and responses to Redeeming Love.
- Is this a Christian exploitation film in the traditional sense of an exploitation film?
Recommendations:
- The Boice Commentary Series: The Minor Prophets, Volume 1 // The Preacher’s Commentary Vol 22 & Vol 23
- Derry Girls (Show)
- Before the Coffee Gets Cold: A Novel by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (Book)
Redeeming Love is Rated PG-13 for mature thematic content, sexual content, partial nudity, and strong violent content. It features Abigail Cowen, Tom Lewis, Eric Dane, Famke Janssen, and Logan Marshall-Green. It’s directed by D.J. Caruso. Redeeming Love is currently streaming on Peacock.
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Melvin Benson is the Founder, Editor-In-Chief, and Lead Host of Cinematic Doctrine. He’s written fiction and nonfiction for over a decade with short stories featured on the Creepypasta Wiki and Wattpad. His novelette Ethereal Temptation, a teen drama with a tinge of magical-realism, can be read for free here. His hope is to see King Jesus glorified as far as the east is from the west!
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