Directed By Richard L. Ramsey and Joel Smallbone

Starring – Daisy Betts, Joel Smallbone, Kirrilee Birger

The Plot – When David Smallbone’s successful music company collapses, he moves his family from Down Under to the States, searching for a brighter future. With nothing more than their six children, suitcases, and their love of music, David (For King & Country’s Joel Smallbone) and his pregnant wife Helen (Betts) set out to rebuild their lives. Based on a remarkable true story, Helen’s faith stands against all odds and inspires her husband and children to hold onto theirs. With their own dreams on hold, David and Helen begin to realize the musical prowess in their children, who would go on to become two of the most successful acts in Inspirational Music history: five-time Grammy Award-winning artists For King & Country and Rebecca St. James.

Rated PG for thematic elements.

Unsung Hero | Official Trailer | April 26th (youtube.com)

POSITIVES

As to where most biopics put the cart before the horse, in terms of focusing primarily on the artist, instead of the person within, “Unsung Hero” constructs a refreshing change of pace, conjuring an intimate loveletter to David and Helen Smallbone, who gave birth to some of the most gifted gospel musicians of our time. Being that this is written and directed by one of their own, the mature decision to center this around the parents instead of the careers of their offspring, attains sincere notoriety in the depths of its storytelling, in turn supplanting a heartfelt and glowing thank you to them that effortlessly articulates the difficulties of parenting and importance of family, even when the rest of the world is crumbling around them. In addition, the faith-based side of its material is meticulously manufactured and elicited without the kind of preachy propaganda or persecution complex that hinder so many of these movies dead on arrival. Instead, faith and the miracles garnered in the film are as a result of the togetherness of community, conveying that anything is possible and overcoming with the help of humbling humanity, which can easily be interpreted in the collection of figures surrounding the Smallbone family that essentially helped them survive as Australian immigrants with very little money, clothing or opportunities to their name. Because the movie never feels hand-fisted in the intention of its opportunity, it allows the material to remain focused on the honor of its intention, as well as the depths of the characters journey, cementing the kind of American dream that quite literally only feels possible in the movies, but one that surfaced for this family long before this adaptation. Likewise, Ramsey once again broadens his film with a rich production value that not only attains stylistic flare that fittingly suits the big screen, but also proof in the proverbial pudding that ample budget was spent in getting so many of the visual and emotional circumference to these scenes right. The lighting and overall shot composition vividly display the culture shocks of migrating from Australia to America, with a permeating essence in capture that naturally avoids artificiality, and the movie’s soundtrack balancing an eclectic list of gospel and even pop music favorites that spring forth an abundance of personality towards the movie’s creative freedom. If this isn’t enough, the casting choices were spot on visually with the likenesses of real life counterparts, and the performances of Betts and Smallbone imbed heart and humanity to two characters who only have each other in this immense and scary new world. In particular, Betts’ warmth and cadence towards her childlike cohorts brandish the immeasurable impact that her children so evidently have for her, and Smallbone shreads the fourth wall of Shia LeBeouf surrealness by portraying his real life father with all of the tepidness and anxieties that feel par for the course in a foreign land, especially one that is constantly kicking him down with the realities of mental and physical price tags along the way. Without adding heavy-handed emphasis, the chemistry between these two effortlessly instills that empathy factor for their respective characters that make it a tragedy each time they face devastation, or a triumph when things start to turn around, and considering they either separately or together make up for one hundred percent of the movie’s focus in narrative, their consistency to craft definitely exudes why they mean so much to seven adoring children. There’s also a couple of surprise cameos from Candice Cameron, fresh off of the worst P.R year of her life, Terry O’Quinn quite literally phoning it in during a few call-in sequences, and Jonathan Jackson sporting a wig so lifelessly artificial that even the mannequins at Sears would brush it off of their heads. While neither are in the film terribly long, their broadly bold personalities help to vividly bring these vital characters to life, and at least in the case of Cameron help her to evade some of that off-screen perception in ideology that has gotten her in a bit of a trouble in the tabloids. Lastly, while it does take a bit of time to get to some of the film’s more intensely dramatic moments, when they do materialize, it giftwraps many tender moments of vulnerability that will have you reaching for the tissues, especially in the untimely passing of one important character to the family, whose immense loss helps to inspire daughter Rebecca into becoming the massive gospel superstar known as Rebecca St. James.

NEGATIVES

While “Unsung Hero” is a touching tribute to the people who help to stars, it isn’t without faults, especially in the depths of its screenplay, which could’ve used an outsiders perspective to wield more of that big screen emphasis that was boldly attained in its aforementioned production values. The biggest hinderance to me was easily the dialogue, which often feels like it’s talking directly to the audience, instead of just between the characters in frame. There are instances with on-the-nose exposition that nonchalantly hammers home the intention, but for my money the greater problem is how the sentences themselves serve as an unsubtle way of gauging audience investments, with one such instance involving a character name being spoken, then followed up with mention of what their relationship is to the person being told this. If this were the opening act of the movie, I could easily forgive it, but considering it happens during the movie’s third act climax, echoing what we’ve already learned about characters an hour prior, it just comes across as a device for reminder, and one that happens too often in a film that understandably knows that it has too many characters. This sentiment can also be realized in the lack of characterization that comes with the child characters, where even Rebecca, a superstar in her own right, is deduced to being just a singer and nothing more. While I can understand and appreciate that the film serves as a loveletter to the parents from their grateful children, I still think a lack of exploration in any of the three musicians that spring from this family is a grave injustice to fans of them who came to learn more about who each of them were before becoming famous, but will be met with hollow outlines that are basically set decorations to the love between Helen and David. Finally, the pacing itself falls a bit suspect during the movie’s initial building blocks of a first act with no urgency or suspense to conflicts that constantly feel life-threatening. This is the area of the film where I had the most difficulty in getting invested, especially since resolutions spring about as quickly as their conflicts do, crafting a complete lack of uncertainty for this family that could’ve helped getting over learning so little about a majority of them, but instead requires more patience before finally becoming invested.

OVERALL
“Unsung Hero” is a refreshing change of religious biopic pace that serves as one emotional love letter from kids to parents, who gave them nothing short of the American dream. With a charming duo exuding effortless chemistry, as well as highly impactful production values attaining big screen appeal, the brand of grounded religion that Ramsey and Smallbone are selling helps to overcome an inconsistent script whose ambition doesn’t always inspire, rounding out a candidly intimate portrait of community and family that evolved to King and Country.

My Grade: 7/10 or B