THE CASE FOR CHRIST
US, 2017, 120 minutes, Colour.
Mike Vogel, Erika Christensen, Faye Dunaway, Robert Forster, Frankie Faison, L.Scott Caldwell, Brett Rice.
Directed by Jon Gunn.
Since The Passion of the Christ, there has been an American market for faith-based films and they have been quite successful at the American box office. There are some limits on the audiences overseas, although there are many evangelical, Pentecostal, community churches beyond the US which supply a niche audience for this kind of film.
The Case for Christ is more interesting than many of the others, the central character being an investigative journalist and the film showing his pursuit of a police case, a frame up, his believing the police evidence and then challenging it. This is intercut throughout the whole film which is based on the atheism to faith journey of award-winning Chicago Herald Tribune journalist, Lee Strobel. The action takes place during the 1980s.
It is also a family story which makes it more appealing to the average audience, the marriage of Lee (Mike Vogel) and his wife Leslie (Erika Christensen), their daughter Alison, Leslie’s pregnancy. Emotions are affected early in the film when Alison suddenly chokes in a restaurant – and her life is saved by a nurse, Alfie (L.Scott Caldwell), who had changed her mind about where she was going to eat and come to this restaurant. She uses Jesus language and talks about Providence so that Leslie, grateful, is challenged to think about her childhood churchgoing, prayer and faith. Lee rejects any kind of transcendent intervention.
Leslie becomes more and more involved in reflection on faith and prayer, brings a gift to Alfie at her hospital, is persuaded to go to the Community Church for a service, decides to go back. The main difficulties is in telling Lee who is angry at his wife’s decision, saying that he wanted his wife back. In a moment of concession, he does go to church with Leslie and Alison but confronts Alfie and warns her off. When Leslie experiences a baptism of immersion, Lee observes from a distance but then leaves and angrily drinks.
A complication is that Lee is alienate it from his father, Robert Forster, which means that this experience of his father serves as a model for his imagining God whom he rejects. It is only when his father dies and he attends the funeral that he discovers his father’s wallet with the article about Lee’s career and a whole album containing articles by him. His also challenged by psychologist (Faye Dunaway), an agnostic who picks that is anger against God is due to his relationship with his father.
While he is investigating the police case, he asks questions about belief in Christ, focusing on the resurrection. Taking the resurrection as the key issue, he sets up an office with a white board, tacking up notes with his questions and his investigations. He goes to a number of experts, religious ministers with faith, the Catholic scholar, Father Marquez, who was an archaeologist but gave it up for priesthood and explains to him textual criticism, the antiquity of texts, the many fragments from the Gospels, the psychologist with whom he discusses mass hysteria, a doctor who is able to explain and analyse the effects of the scourging, the carrying of the cross, the physiology of crucifixion and the piercing of Jesus’ side.
Meanwhile at the office, he is supported by a friendly father-figure journalist who urges him to support his wife no matter what he feels, and is challenged by another journalist who reminds him that he sees only what he wants to see and refuses to see anything else.
Ultimately, all the evidence, the core experience of disciples seeing the risen Christ no matter what the differences in detail in the narratives, persuades him and leads him to faith. His particular kind of faith, based on facts, investigation, experts, is a very rational faith. This is by way of contrast with his wife’s profound experience, the saving of her daughter’s life, the community experience of church, the witness of a friend.
Since the 1980s, Lee Strobel has been a minister at Community Churches and has written a great number of books including cases for faith, grace, hope…
1. The impact of American faith based-films? For American audiences? World audiences? Christianity and 21st-century? The range of target audiences? Believers? Non-believers? Success at the box office?
2. Based on a true story, the life and work of Lee Strobel? Opening in the 1980s, Lee Strobel’s journey from atheism to faith? A family story, the background of the generations? Struggle and success as a journalist? His investigative journalism?
3. Chicago locations, the Herald Tribune? The newsroom, offices? Homes, churches, baptism by immersion? The world of the variety of experts? The musical score?
4. Lee, the true story, his intellectual and faith journey? His subsequent career? Minister, writing, Christian thought? His daughter and son in their careers?
5. Lee as a personality, his unsympathetic aspects? His journalism, his success with his book, the reaction of fellow journalists? The police round, the shooting, the interview with Hicks, with Koblinski in hospital? His looking at the evidence, his interpretation of the facts, seeing what he wanted to see? Hicks as guilty? His source in the police and taking him to dinner? His article? Success? The later encounter with Kuklinski, his wounds, examining the forensic evidence, the pen as a gun? Going to his boss, being condemned? Going to see Hicks in the hospital, apologising? Hicks going free and innocent?
6. His family, the glimpse of the marriage, his daughter, Leslie’s pregnancy, the restaurant outing, Alison choking, Alfie and her help? The issue of Providence? Alfie as a catalyst for Leslie’s reaction? Lee and his hostility? Thanks, going to church, warning Alfie off? His reaction to Leslie’s talk about faith, Jesus, prayer? His atheism, Alison saying she was an atheist? God as the equivalent of fairytales? Everything having to be based on facts? The contrast with Leslie, pondering, her gratitude, the gift for Alfie, going to meet her, going to the church, the effect of the first visit, Alfie’support, going again? The difficulties in telling Lee, his reactions?
7. Leslie, her faith, prayer, studying the Scriptures, of the quoting Ezekiel 36 and the new heart? Baptism by immersion, Lee watching and then leaving, going out and drinking? Her being hurt by his behaviour?
8. Lee, an angry man, his parents’ visit, his inability to look at his father, his father leaving? His visit to the psychologist and her asking about his father? The news of his father’s death, going to the funeral, finding the wallet, the article in the wallet, his mother showing him the album which his father had compiled with all his articles?
9. His interest in Christianity, the key of the resurrection? His deciding to investigate? The range of experts consulted, about the resurrection, ministers of religion and faith, Fr Marquez and his archaeology and textual criticism, the psychologist and the discussions about mass hysteria, the doctor and the physical aspects of Jesus’ suffering and the crucifixion? His room, the whiteboard, the range of notes? His discussions with Ray and Ray’s support? The Christian journalist and the antagonism – and his final challenge at Lee? The effect on Lee? The challenge to see what he didn’t want to see?
10. The consequences, his relationship with Leslie, his acknowledgement of faith, reconciliation? His book? His further writing and career?
11. A film about believing that… In terms of Lee and his investigation, facts and intellectual reasons? The contrast with Leslie and her faith as commitment?
