An inspirational tale of faith and recovery

Miracles fromHeaven (PG)

Jennifer Garner gives a stirring “grace under pressure” performance in this feel-good film about how astonishing cures can sometimes occur in the most spectacular ways. It’s based on a real-life memoir written by a God-fearing Texas woman, Christy Beam, who had her faith tested to the limit after her daughter was stricken down with a life-threatening illness in 2011.

Garner plays Beam herself, a member of a farming family who loses her faith for a time after her ten-year-old daughter Annabel (Kylie Rogers) develops a rare intestinal disorder that causes her stomach to distend and makes her unable to digest food.

Misdiagnosed at first, its severity is eventually realised by the medical establishment. The Beam family then learn to their horror that she’ll most likely die unless a life-saving operation can be performed. In desperation they head to renowned gastroenterologist Dr Nurko (Eugenio Derbez) who’s based in Boston. A visit to that city, however, fails to achieve the desired result despite the best efforts of Dr Nurko to help Annabel. All hope seems now lost but then something happens that shifts the goalposts entirely.

In another director’s hands this could have been a mushy exercise in tearjerking propaganda but Patricia Riggen, a Mexican lady who helmed a similar kind of life-affirming drama in The 33 last year, keeps things credible as Christy moves Heaven and Earth – and as many bank balances as she and her family can mobilise – to try and save her daughter’s life. The manner in which the extended community help in this regard is also impressively chronicled.

Christy’s veterinary husband Kevin (Martin Henderson) is equally committed to Annabel’s cure, unlikely as that seems for much of the time. So also is her elder sister Abbie (Brighton Sharbino), not to mention a Good Samaritan hotel waitress the family encounter, played with infectious warmth by Queen Latifah. Latifah provides some much-needed humour in a film that’s painful to watch at times. A jolly pastor (John Carroll Lynch) also helps in this regard.

The “miracle” of the finale – which I won’t reveal for fear of spoiling your surprise – combined with the fate of an atheist who isn’t, like Annabel, saved, has combined to make many critics see the film as an exercise in ‘Bible belt’ propaganda verging on the ridiculous.

One can see a certain legitimacy in this viewpoint  because of the astounding manner in which Anna’s cure is brought about but the performances of all concerned, especially Garner – whose name, no doubt, raised the money to secure  a commercial release for a low budget, niche-interest movie like this  – keep such an element in check. They also prevent it being a far-fetched display of bald proselytization.

Notwithstanding such virtues, it will still, no doubt, be accused of preaching to the converted because of the cathartic conclusion, and as such join the recent God’s Not Dead 2 in people’s list of films deemed guilty of smug didacticism.

*** Good