Took my oldest (13) to see To Save a Life this past weekend.
Very well done. We enjoyed it a great deal.
Heads up: It does have Christian themes present and makes no apologies for it but it isn’t a cram religion or theology down your throat kind of movie. I would say the idea of love more so than religion comes through a lot.
However, something that most Christian entertainment films don’t have…it didn’t get too preachy and it didn’t portray as if the minute you become a Christian it is all sunshine and roses and you never have another problem again.
It deal with real life and real life issues and treated them as such.
The movie deals with a host of issues and I think they may have been better served if they had tackled one or two istead of trying to cram them all in.
You have: teen suicide, pregnancy/abortion, trying to fit in, judgmental pastors/church members, cutting, drinking/drugs, parent divorce and discovering your spirituality/what you believe in.
One of my favorite exchanges was between a character and a youth pastor. The kid tells him, “I’m not really very religious…” and the pastor responds, “Neither am I.” He goes on to explain in greater detail being religious vs. having faith.
The best part of the movie to me was the drive home with my son. We had a great conversation about many of the issues and that you never know how your negative actions or your kindness might influence a life.
The theater was packed when we saw the movie and we ended up sitting behind a row of about 20 teenagers. They were very loud all during the previews and I was worried we might have a problem once the movie started but once the first pivitol scene grabbed you I never heard another peep out of them.