Ordinary Angels (2024)
In director Jon Gunn's new feel-good
film Ordinary Angels, Hillary Swank plays Sharon, a hairdresser in 1990s
Kentucky struggling with alcoholism and attempting to find a purpose for her
life. She finds one when she reads a news story about Ed (Alan Ritchson), a
recent widower buried in medical bills because his five-year-old daughter
(Emily Mitchell) has a rare disease that requires a liver transplant. Sharon
decides to throw her considerable energies into helping the family in any way
possible, sometimes to Ed's consternation.
The description may make it sound like
an old-fashioned inspirational TV movie, but the script by Kelly Fremon Craig (Are
You There, God? It's Me, Margaret) and Meg Tilly (yes, older film fans, the
actress from The Big Chill and The Two Jakes) has some
psychological complexity to it. A character notes that Sharon's manic devotion
to helping Ed's family is still a form of addict behavior, albeit a more
helpful form of it than binge-drinking. Ed also suggests that Sharon is doing
all these good deeds for her as much as for his family.
The film is based on actual events, so
it's not really a spoiler to say it has a happy ending. The finale, featuring
acts of kindness from a wide variety of people, will likely move even
hard-hearted curmudgeons in the audience. Swank does strong work in the lead
and Ritchson convincingly conveys Ed's bone-deep weariness over all that has
happened to his family.
Ordinary Angels was produced by
Kingdom Story Company, a production company that makes faith-based films. This
one has real crossover appeal. While there is some talk of prayer and faith,
it's not a preachy film, and even dyed-in-the-wool atheists will likely find
things to appreciate in this tale of kindness and self-sacrifice.
