When the boy realizes they are gone and looks around, he sees Hannah. As CDC says, ‘Don’t travel for Thanksgiving,’ the United States replies, ‘Hold my boarding pass’. “Overcomer” also includes several elements similar to real-life challenges that may be familiar to many viewers. “In film, it’s all about story. It all began in 2003 with Flywheel (the Kendricks still laugh at that one) … Thomas, it turns out, is a former cross-country star, although the real surprise is that he’s also Hannah’s father, having abandoned her during his former shameful life of drugs and degradation. Mysterious monolith discovered in remote Utah wilderness. 803-578-1899. I won’t spoil it for you by telling more, but the viewing experience can be liberating. As a result, Brookshire’s otherwise competitive boys basketball team has been greatly depleted, and coach John Harrison (played by the director) has been forced into double duty as coach for Hannah’s cross-country team. Alex Kendrick’s “Overcomer” tells the story of Hannah Scott, a high school cross-country runner who discovers her faith in the midst of some serious life challenges. Its lone member, Hannah Scott (Wright-Thompson), is a young girl with a disappointing past, a confused future, and health issues to boot. The weekend controversy over BYU refusing to play at Washington under the Pac-12’s complex conditions was never about the game; it was a dog and pony show. SALT LAKE CITY — “Overcomer” has a thoughtful message about forgiveness and religious identity, but as a movie, it needs some work. There are also some missteps with the script, such as an early scene between the coach and his wife that feels too heavy-handed in context, and though it’s critical to the plot, the introduction of the spiritual content feels very disjointed and at times preachy. When they reach an apartment complex, … 8 and No. God shows up and says to him, 'You are a valiant warrior.' People are freaking out over a monolith discovered in the middle of nowhere in Utah. SALT LAKE CITY — When the Christian filmmaking team Kendrick Brothers first contacted Priscilla Shirer about appearing in their 2011 film “Courageous,” she turned them down. John doesn't even think running is a real sport, and the only student who tries out is Hannah (Aryn Wright-Thompson), a transfer student whose parents are dead, who lives with her grandmother Barbara (Denise Armstrong), and, who, more pertinent to long-distance running, has asthma. And the prompting to talk about identity. That certainly holds true with regards to “Overcomer,” the latest bit of bigscreen proselytizing by writer-director-star Alex Kendrick (“War Room,” “Courageous”). But the story takes a turn when the coach realizes that a man he visits at a local hospital (Cameron Arnett) is Hannah’s long-lost father. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. "And I love how God comes to Gideon and says, 'even while you're operating in a way that is incongruent with the truth, I have come to remind you who you are," she continued. Much of that is due to the clunkiness of Kendrick’s script (penned with brother Stephen), which drowns every moment in exposition and male tears. 'Who Are You When What You're Known for is Stripped Away?' ", "Our culture wants to say identity is what you feel, or what culture says about you, or some status, job status, financial status," Alex continued. No matter the setting or circumstances, the solution to every dilemma found in Christian Evangelical films is getting closer to God. To its credit, “Overcomer” does finish with an uplifting third act, but ultimately, it feels like a film with potential that just needed a steadier hand. Plus, the school's principal (played by Priscilla C. Shirer) wants him to coach the cross country team. Then, we get another, as teacher and basketball coach John Harrison (played by the director, whose performance certainly sells the idea that the filmmakers pulled a random high school basketball coach, with no acting experience but a genial personality, out of nowhere and put him in the leading role) is in a tough spot. Through some painfully on-the-nose dialogue during a later visit, John learns that Thomas, blind and having more health issues on account of diabetes, is actually Hannah's long-believed dead father. All Rights Reserved, ‘You know I’m not a trained actress, right?’ How this Christian author and speaker ended up in the new movie ‘Overcomer’, Why BYU wouldn’t take the Washington Huskies’ bait. “They said, ‘Read the script again and we think you’ll see it’s not just a movie, it’s ministering,’” she said. ”I said, ‘you know I’m not a trained actress, right?’ And it wasn’t a good time for my kids for me to take on a project like that,” said Shirer, a Texas-based author, motivational speaker and Christian evangelist.