Film Review: The List

It's films like "The List" that makes me wonder if whatever openness Hollywood had to faith-based films after the monster success of "The Passion of the Christ" is rapidly fading away. This scattered, Bible-based Christian thriller continues the pattern of lukewarm "faith-based" films that end up going straight-to-DVD and further the stereotype that Christians can't make good films because they can't present their message effectively or in a way that feels honest.

In "The List," a whiny, money-hungry lawyer in South Carolina learns his father has died and is left a safety deposit box with information about a secret society that dates back to the Civil War. Believing that his inheritance lies with the secret society, the lawyer, Renny, joins the group and learns of its history. During the Civil War, a group of men created a secret entity called the Conventry List of South Carolina to protect their fortunes. Their names -- as well as those of each family's chosen male descendant since then -- are signed along with a blood fingerprint pact in a book. For nearly 150 years, The List's accumulated wealth has stretched into the hundreds of millions.

After his father dies, Renny is invited to a meeting of The List and meets the beautiful Jo Johnston, who is mistakenly invited when its members think she is a man named "Joe" (her father also recently died). Since the group is all-male, Jo is not eligible to receive her father's value in The List (a family can lose its fortune if it runs out of male heirs). While Jo backs away, she is concerned for Renny, who plays along in order to have a chance at his inheritance.

This all sounds kinda interesting until we learn that the book on which the list is contained also has a supernatural element. We're not quite sure about this power other than we're supposed to just accept that it's evil and it can hurt not only the List members but also those that they care about. It could be a metaphor for whatever vice a person has, possibly one that has traveled through family generations. At this point, an antidote to that evil is introduced. Along the way, we see the love interest between Renny and Jo, the "angels" that start to appear in Renny's life and several unanswered plot questions. The film is relatively clean, language- and violence-wise, so families with older children can watch it. I would just like them to comment here on just what the heck actually went on in the film.

I have to admit that I am bothered by some of the Christian films that are arriving at the Herald office (i.e. lately, it's "The Ultimate Gift," "Saving Sarah Cain" and "Facing the Giants.") While they are all watchable with good lead actors and you appreciate the positive messages of prayer and faith, they also have a cookie-cutter feel that will convince few outside of the choir. These films tend to involve a self-absorbed protagonist who doesn't see God but is thrust into a situation where they undergo "tests" that eventually bring them to their knees. The lead women tend to be beautiful young blondes. The storylines try to draw in a secular audience by teasing it as, for example, a romantic comedy or a sports action flick or a thriller before predictably veering off the tracks in an effort to make sure it drives home its message of faith. Are these films not grabbing the public's attention because it can't handle the faith message, or is it something else?

I tend to think it's the latter. While the intentions of faith-based filmmakers are noble -- there's nothing wrong with promoting the power of prayer and the benefits of reading Scripture and living a God-centered life -- I have yet to see one of these films that can show the spiritual struggle honestly. They seem to lack theological depth.

One interesting bit with "The List," there's an alternate ending with Renny and Jo among the deleted scenes that would have given the film a slightly different, more interesting context. It's worth checking out if you rent it.