KING’S FAITH
***
Smartly filmed with a sobering yet positive message.
After serving time in a detention centre, a young man who has been arrested nine times is placed into his 18th foster home and into the care of a family who have recently lost their son.
Brandon King (Crawford Wilson) has placed his life in the hands of Jesus Christ as his Saviour and has had his life changed completely. Living out his faith he still faces ghosts of old who try and lure him back to his old life filled with lawlessness and drugs, as well as a mistrusting foster mother Vanessa Stubbs (Lynn Whitfield) backed up by a police colleague of her deceased son (Christopher Jon Martin) who don’t believe he really has changed.
His foster father, Mike Stubbs (James McDaniel), seems to be the only one who believes in him and continues to encourage him to hold fast to his faith and trust in God at every turn, even when he cannot see if there will be any good end in sight.
King’s interactions with a popular, yet troubled, girl at school, Natalie (Kayla Compton), show her that there is something different about him; his faith.
The film takes the viewer on a fast-paced ride on a sea of trouble and uncertainty as King tries to keep his eyes above the waves and cling tightly to God in the midst of this storm.
Wilson plays the role with great passion and conviction and is complemented by a powerful and emotional performance by McDaniel. Director Nicholas DiBella, who also co-wrote the film, knits the drama together finely with underlying tension from start to finish.
SPECIAL FEATURES: A really heartwarming but short behind-the-scenes featurette and commentary by director/cowriter Nicholas diBella, cowriter Paul Root and producers James Pavon and Kirk Dueker. There are also online links to a discussion guide and companion clips for Bible study.
Matthew Jordaan