Godspeed Movie Review
Godspeed Movie Review
God, it's slow.
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With a last name that's far too ironic for his own good, faith-healer Charlie Shepherd (Joseph McKelheer) may have his flock under control, but his grasp on his family and his own serenity are tenuous at best.
The bearded messiah wannabe preaches in a derelict Alaskan town, where everyone knows everyone else's sinful pastimes — Shepherd is no exception, sleeping with the town pump and drinking himself into a stupor on a nightly basis. But when Shepherd's out on one of his sin jags and his pretty young wife and sweet young son are murdered by unknown home-invader assailants, the fallen man of the cloth retreats from his followers.
Charlie slinks away to the deep woods, living drunken monk-like in a trailer home amongst the trees, seldom venturing out. Occasionally he's visited by the local fish & game man (Ed Lauter), but it's not until he goes into town for a sandwich and meets beautiful teenage (and of course) redhead Sarah (Courtney Halverson) that the days quit blending together. Sarah begs the preacher to go back to his calling and help her grieving father… you see, Sarah's mother died of cancer. The cancer that killed her, after Charlie's old faith-healing efforts failed.
It's easy to tell where the story is going — Sarah's family is out for revenge — but it's not really supposed to be a mystery. Sarah's brother Luke (bingo on another heavy-handed religious reference) is well-played by co-writer (sharing credit with writer-director Robert Saitzyk) Cory Knauf. Luke and Charlie are both charismatic enough to lead cults — and both of them do — but which one will get God's attention first? (Note: not unlike the Hope and Crosby of horror, it seems McKelheer and Knauf are something of an acting team; you can also see them going tête-à-tête in The Hamiltons, Hamill, and The Violent Kind.)
Angsty acting abounds in Godspeed. It's got some moments of genuine intensity and while it is a low-budget movie, it was filmed on location and it never once looks cheap or amateurish. Even the bit players (such as Wendy Young, credited only as "Diner Waitress") have an admirable authenticity about them. But the movie is slow, slow, slow… and patience is a virtue. So, if you can make it all the way through, the reward is heavenly (and gory).
Godspeed opens in limited release on March 26, 2010. Visit their website [GodspeedThe Film.com] for details.
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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson