“Imagine.”
It’s one word that has powerful depth when put into song and it is what drives both the movie as well as the inspiration behind what is said to be one of the most known songs in America.
The movie, based on the real life story of songwriter, Bart Milliard, (played by J. Michael Finley, in his debut role) shows the journey of Bart, as a singer songwriter, from childhood to musical sensation as we see the emotional struggle that ultimately shaped the song as a whole. The acting captures the heart of the story as a true piece of artwork and ultimately a love letter of redemption between a son to a father. In that way, regardless of religion or not, anyone who sees the movie or hears the song is immediately touched by its message.
Filmed primarily in Oklahoma City, the imagery captures the time period perfectly as the film picks up in 1985 when Young Bart (played by Brody Rose, from the film Gifted) is listening to a old school tape player which we learn is how he’s able to cope with the abuse in his house of both himself and his mother. Early on, we learn that music is going to be essential to what drives the young boy to overcome his father (played by Dennis Quaid), but we also see a shift in the boy after a trip to church camp tied to his mother leaving, where he suddenly wants to do everything to please his angry father, even by following in his father’s footsteps and joining the football team.
All in all, everything seems to be going well, until an injury his senior year haults his career and helps him rediscover the music in joining Glee club. From that moment, Bart is finally old enough to rebel against his father and he takes off, also leaving his childhood crush, Shannon (played by Madeline Carroll from the Resident Evil film) and venture out in search of himself with a church band called MercyMe, [a name given by his memaw (Cloris Leachman)].
From there, things continue to grow for the small town band as through a letter, Bart convinces music manager, Brickell (played by Trace Adkins) to help them find their voice, but ultimately it takes Bart finally realizing he must forgive his father and create a few special moments, in order to find the right song.
Ultimately, the audience also receives a little extra satisfaction of knowing the real life Mercy Me and Bart Milliard, when the director choses to let us know that Bart does reunite with his mother again.
At an hour and fifty minutes, “I Can Only Imagine” is a film that will have you fully engaged in the back story and once you know the truth, you won’t be able to listen to the song without a new sense of emotion. The film contains all that and more and although when one puts it next to other religious movies including “God’s Not Dead”, maybe it’s not as strong as the others, but still it gets the point across and by the end, the message of redemption will bring even the hardest of souls over swept with a bit of emotion, though may not be enough to shed a bit of tears.
Watch the trailer below and see “I Can Only Imagine” in a theater near you. It’s a great addition to be added to the long list of religious movie great.