Directed By Joshua Weigel
Starring – Nika King, Demetrius Grosse, Elizabeth Mitchell
The Plot – Inspired by the powerful true story, the film follows Donna (King) and Reverend Martin (Grosse) as they ignite a fire in the hearts of their rural church to embrace kids in the foster system that nobody else would take. By doing the impossible-adopting 77 children-this East Texas community proved that, with real, determined love, the battle for America’s most vulnerable can be won.
Rated PG-13 for thematic material involving child abuse, some violence, adult language and brief suggestive material.
Sound Of Hope: The Story Of Possum Trot | Official Trailer | Angel Studios (youtube.com)
POSITIVES
On the surface, ‘Sound of Hope’ is about the faith of two people who utilize God’s message to save unwanted children stuck in a perilous system, but at it’s core it’s very much a startling message of urgency about the realities that 100,000 kids unfortunately still face today. Having friends in the social work profession, I knew some of the difficulties associated with adoption agencies and the overall placement process, but this film offered a far more extensively insightful glance on the overwhelming adversity with finding the perfect fit for children, and while one can expect any movie from Angel Studios resolves itself with a happy ending, I appreciate that the script took ample opportunity in showing the many obstacles and hurdles that families face in settling in to their everyday realities, with everything from previous behaviors carrying over to their newfound surroundings, to resentment, to even psychological scarring, outlining the immensity in task that at the very least offers an honest take to preconceived conceptions. Because the film zeroes in on these conflicts, it attains a defining level of dramatic flare and intensity that most faith-based movies don’t feel privy to, inscribing not only an empathetic value towards Donna and W.C, as their dedication to God’s message tests the sanctity of their household, but also a gripping intent within the direction of Weigel, who grounds a lot of this film’s execution in the depths of humbling accessibility with its faith that will manage to maintain the focus of even atheist moviegoers like myself. Getting audiences uncomfortable is a daringly audacious move in a PG-13 faith-based film, but it goes a long way in measuring the transformation for many of these kids by comprehending the kinds of conditions that they came from, in turn supplanting an immense element of stakes to the aforementioned urgency that serves as the last hope for so many of them. On top of this, ‘Sound of Hope’ does represent an enhanced level of production values for Angel Studios, with a presentation and technical merits that far succeed any other film under this troubled studio umbrella. While it’s still a ways from the big screen production values that we’ve become spoiled by in over a hundred years of cinema, the lighting and editing are greatly improved from even last year’s ‘Sound of Freedom’, with warmly inviting and meaningful visuals conjuring the love and spirituality of this family, who are effortlessly likeable and easy to follow. On the subject of those appreciated figures, the performances from the film’s dynamic trio go a long way in bringing out the heart and humanity of the characters, without a single weak link in the bunch. In fact, to get longtime film veterans like King, Grosse and Mitchell are especially remarkable, and in a film like this you really get to experience their talents first hand, with the soft sincerity of King, the exuberant charisma of Grosse, and the resilient determination of Mitchell offering an indulgent balance between them to carry the responsibility through two hours of its storytelling. It’s difficult to pick a real show-stealer among the herd, but I would say King’s initial stoicism for God’s message goes through the most thorough emotional evolution among all of the characters, offering her a versatile perplexity that takes the character through darker waters than I was initially expecting. Mitchell is someone I have watched in many kinds of roles for a longtime, but it’s clearly evident that she feels a lot of respect and honor in taking on the character, and as a result we get the bold and brilliant side of Mitchell, with a role that for as much as she lacks in visual likeness to her real life counterpart, she more than makes up for in soulful nobility. Lastly, on account of that real life factor, the film does a remarkable job of bringing so many vital elements of the story to the screen, with nothing from what I can tell in my investigation enhanced for dramatization. Obviously tonal impulses will always be intensified to bring out the uncertainty of a particular scene, but on the elements of factual information from the Martin’s remarkable triumph, the key ingredients remain undisturbed, as a result of the couple serving as advisors on the film’s production, where they get to re-live both the love and admiration that each of them have for one another, but also their miraculous triumph in finding 77 kids homes, which proves what all of us could do with universal cooperation.
NEGATIVES
The film goes a long way in manufacturing a gripping but feel good narrative that its audience will eat up, but a few issues with the script and tone created distracting problems that the film would’ve been better without, with one being a consistent issue among nearly every faith-based movie that I have seen in my fourteen years as a critic. I’m talking of course about faith and how it’s unnecessarily used in the material as a way to draw back desperately to that marketed audience. While I don’t have a problem with faith being in the film, as it’s a primary aspect of both the story and the Martin’s lives, some overhead narration by King does sort of unsubtly meander on the sentiment, echoing much of what the audience has already experienced in the foreground of the scenes it accompanies. In my opinion, the film could’ve easily omitted the narration completely, or at least used it sparingly between the film’s book-ends, as failure to do so forcefully steered the scene in ways that obstructed the interpretation of the audience. It isn’t enough that King’s words are as obvious and heavily intentioned as any dialogue that I’ve experienced this year, but it’s even worse when it happens so often throughout a two hour engagement, leaving me audibly groaning whenever the sound mixing decided to intrude upon the naturality of a scene so abruptly. In addition to this, the film is a bit manipulative in its tonal capacities, but more so in the depths of its intrusive sound mixing, which obliterates Sean Phillip Johnson’s serviceable score in volume, each time a child speaks in overwhelming sadness or anger. Films with tougher execution to get to the heart of their material obviously use this method as a shortcut to their destinations, but with an important story and capable child actors of pulling on your heartstrings, it feels like a desperate way of further pushing the proverbial envelope, with boisterously obnoxious repetition that gets old quite quickly. Finally, the script does a solid job of replicating the Martin’s story, as previously commended, but do shortchange the focus of their own biological children, as a result of focusing so heavily on the adopted children and their newfound parents. Two hours is more than enough time to render their realities of now having to split attention with siblings they’ve essentially never even met, and while the story responsibly outlines the grueling task of saving kids while regretfully deeming it impossible towards others, I still feel there was enough room and opportunity in this two hour story to depict how life changed for those already fortunate enough to be born in a loving, caring household.
OVERALL
‘Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot’ does indulge in unnecessary measures that bring out the cinematic encompassing of its gripping true story in the most unfortunate of ways, but it’s still an entertainingly educational insight into the never-ending job of child placement, with more than a few unsettling factual truths in its uncovering. With a trio of meaningful performances, as well as authentic faith that doesn’t require a persecution complex, the film serves as one of the more impactful Angel Studios productions, cementing as much hope for this inconsistent studio as the helpless children we owe our lives to protecting.
My Grade: 6/10 or C