From the opening moments of Ordinary Angels, you can probably storyboard the plot beat for beat. While it’s neither complex nor novel, the film is based on a feel-good true story, so it’s hard to give it too much grief. In short, a charismatic hairdresser, Sharon (Hilary Swank), helps a sullen widower, Ed Schmitt (Alan Ritchson), raise money and awareness to help save his critically ill young daughter, who’s in need of a liver transplant. From the beginning, it’s clear that director Jon Gunn wants this to be a real tearjerker. He pulls no punches in the first act, focusing on the death of Ed’s wife followed by a dramatic trip to the ER with his daughter, Michelle (Emily Mitchell). In between, we are introduced to the alcoholic Sharon, who never grew out of her partying phase, but is inspired after hearing about the struggling family. It’s a long and sad first act, but, fortunately, things lighten up as Sharon inserts herself into the family, raising money on her own and even helping Ed grow his roofing business to help pay for medical bills.
The second act is really where the film shines, as we see Swank do her best Erin Brockovich impression as the underestimated and charismatic belle taking on more than she can chew in helping the Schmitt family. What starts as generic tragedy porn turns into an upbeat story of perseverance and southern charm as Sharon woos over the folks in town for a good cause. For at least 15 minutes, it’s exciting to watch Sharon gain traction and appeal to Schmitt, despite his ambivalence receiving the help. But the positive tone soon wanes as Michelle’s condition worsens and Ed begins to resent Sharon immersing herself into his family. Their situation becomes more dire well into the third act before an overly dramatic resolution caps off the film. Again, it’s a true and heartwarming story, but one that isn’t executed with much sophistication.
Overall, the sad tone of the film and its schlocky resolution prevents it from being more impactful. Though there are obviously many scary and sad aspects, this is mostly a feel-good story, so it’s surprising to see it presented with such a sad tone over the course of the nearly two-hour runtime, despite its PG rating. And even with the strong 15 minutes from Swank, it feels mostly like Gunn is going through the motions with the film. We get little insight into Sharon’s and Ed’s characters aside from the fact that one’s an alcoholic and the other is a blue-collar Kentuckian. While Swank delivers a solid performance and is the highlight of the film, Ritchson, who has received praise as the badass Jack Reacher, falls short here in breaking out of his shell. He fails to bring much depth to his character and seems like he’s better suited for roles where he can rely on his physicality and seriousness.
Writer Kelly Fremon Craig, who has written well-received films like The Edge of Seventeen and Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret., didn’t seem to be challenged here. It’s a shame that the final film wasn’t as successful considering the talented people involved. It’s a slight disappointment for Gunn, who has directed similar paint-by-number, feel-good, faith-related films like American Underdog and Jesus Revolution. Too downtrodden to feel like an inspiring call to action and too generic to feel unique, Ordinary Angels just feels like another based-on-a-true-story movie whose sole purpose is to make sentimental viewers cry.
Photo courtesy of Lionsgate
The post Ordinary Angels appeared first on Spectrum Culture.