MOVIE PREVIEWS
FAITH
Rated: PG-13
Release Date: 12/11/2020
Production Company: Vertical Entertainment

Cast:
Brian Geraghty, Nora-Jane Noone and Iddo Goldberg.

Crew:
Director: Eli Daughdrill. Producers: Eli Daughdrill, Mike S. Ryan and Sharri Hefner. Executive Producers: Eli Daughdrill. Screenwriter: Eli Daughdrill. Cinematographer: Mike S. Ryan.
Plot:
By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs

Screenwriter and director Eli Daughdrill ("Jonas" and "Professor") says his latest movie, ?Faith? isn't a traditional type of "faith-based" film. Daughdrill, who hails from Merced County (Atwater), says he set out to make something about culture and the Evangelical identity rather than "proselytizing to the converted."

"Faith" may be a small-budget drama, but it's a big, earnest, and compelling movie that doesn't browbeat you with its messaging.

The film follows Chris (an excellent Brian Geraghty, TV's "Big Sky" and "The Fugitive"), a devout Catholic believer, who along with his lovely wife Carol (Nora-Jane Noone; "12 Feet Deep") have a teen son named David (Aaron Guest, "Game Shakers") who can be a bit of a handful.

David tests his father all the time and unlike his dad David isn't a regular churchgoer. That irks Chris too and he doesn't get a lot of support from Carol about Chris' attitude.

When tragedy strikes David, Chris and Carol are devastated. It tears them apart and Chris' faith and beliefs are shaken which forces him to reach out to his sympathetic father, Edgar (Thomas Francies Murphy ("12 Years a Slave" and TV's "Filthy Rich" ) for guidance. Chris must also confront some very deep-seated issues he's been wrestling with.

I like the path and direction Daughdrill takes with "Faith." It's a nuanced, yet powerful film that doesn't provide easy answers and things don't wrap up all nice and tidy. In fact, there are more questions than answers which gives viewers something to ponder about their own lives.

"Faith" is available on Amazon Prime, Itunes, Google Play, Vudu, Redbox OnDemand and Fandango.

Editor's Note: Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays now at 6:20 p.m. on radio station KFBK 1530 AM and 93.1 FM.

Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics' Association (BFCA), The Black Film Critics Circle (BFCC) and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.

OLD SCHOOL VIDEO PICK OF THE MONTH

<b>MAHOGANY</b> Title: MAHOGANY
Year Released: 1975
Running Time: 109
Production Company: Paramount Pictures
Director: Berry Gordy, Tony Richardson and Jack Wormser
Director of Photography: David Watkin
Screenwriter: John Byrum and Toni Amber
Author: Lana K. Wilson-Combs

REVIEW: DIANA ROSS AND BILLY DEE WILLIAMS DAZZLE IN "MAHOGANY"

Do you know where you're going to?
Do you like the things that life is showing you? Where are you going to?
Do you know?
Do you get what you're hoping for? When you look behind you, there's no open doors. What are you hoping for? Do you know? "Theme from Mahogany...
  MOVIE TRIVIA
 
The "Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)" was sung by Diana Ross in the 1975 movie "Mahogany." But, who initially recorded the song in 1973?
"Roberta Flack"
"Natalie Cole"
"Deniece Williams"
"Thelma Houston"