One Good Man
Director: Christian Vuissa (Baptists at Our Barbeque)
Mormondom will praise this family friendly film for its high standards and sturdy plot. “One Good Man” was not an amazing movie, but it one that actually holds its moral ground and is surprisingly deep. Amidst the onslaught of silly Mormon films, this movie is remarkably sober, without being cheesy, and holds its own even with the stigmatic amateurish feeling of the fledgling Mormon cinema genre.
I actually liked “One Good Man.” It is a slower film that never really takes off, but still manages to hold an audience. Those of the LDS faith will be able to connect to the plethora of problems faced by the title character, Adam Young (Tim Threfall). Adam is a middle aged father of five (maybe six, it is hard to keep track of them all, ha ha) who faces company layoffs, trouble with kids, and difficult church responsibilities. All the problems any LDS man might face…packed into 90 minutes. This slightly over stuffed plot seemed a little excessive, but since things never really come to a head the many difficulties were needed to pull the audience through the film.
The film does feel a little amateurish. The cinematography is okay, but has a soap opera quality. It is acted and made by people with relatively few film credits to their names. “One Good Man” however goes far beyond the childish humor saturating the LDS film market. Instead we have a nice movie that warms our hearts a little bit and makes us feel warm and fuzzy inside. The script feels a little more like a play not a movie; but the acoustic guitar score playing in the background works well and wouldn’t transition onto the stage well. The actors also seem more accustomed to the stage than the screen. Lines seemed a bit forced in some areas, though the lead Tim Threfall was quite convincing in his role. The best actor of the film was a side character played by Adam Johnson who indecently played a similar role as the non-LDS boyfriend in “Charly” (which might be the best LDS film to date next to “Saints and Soldiers”).
“One Good Man” gets a 6.8 out of 10 in my book. It was not a half bad movie, ameraturish like I said before, but still a quiet and gentle film that the whole family can watch. There is nothing offensive in the movie. It delivers a few chuckles, but ultimately is just warm and fuzzy. It is a good start to the more serious Mormon movies.
Sex/Nudity – 0
Violence/Gore – 0
Profanity - 0
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