Renuka Vyavahare, TNN | Dec 8, 2011, 09.50PM IST
Cast: Gerard Butler, Michelle Monaghan, Michael Shannon Director: Marc Forster Genre: Biopic/ war
Machine Gun Preacher showcases one man's journey from hooliganism to humanitarianism.
Machine Gun Preacher is a biopic on Sam Childers, an outlaw biker who amended his errant lifestyle and eventually became the gun bearing messiah for the children of war-torn South Sudan, Africa.
Sam (Gerard Butler) an outlaw biker, drowns himself in drugs and alcohol when he's not in prison serving for drug dealing and other criminal charges. He prefers his wife do the striptease for better income than take up some low paying dignified job.
The hooliganism however comes to a sudden standstill when he realizes he's gone way too far. He takes to Jesus and the church lands him in Sudan where he finds himself staring at the loss of innocent lives in the war-torn barren land of Africa.
Finding redemption in the process of saving innocent lives, Sam not only lets go of his indecent ways but also takes an active part in the Sudan People's Liberation movement.
From a white supremacist who beats up the blacks, to the father who devotes his life for the well being of the Sudanese orphans over his own, the film takes you on an emotional roller coaster ride.
You end up asking yourself, how far can you go to help someone who may not survive to see another day!
Directed by Mark Forster, Machine Gun Preacher is uplifting and depressing at the same time. War, bloodshed, poverty, apathetic society turning a blind eye to those in dire need...the film leaves you with a heavy heart. It makes you want to google Sam Childers and tell him how ashamed you are for not knowing about his fight in Africa, for not thinking beyond your regular petty worries.
The cinematic depiction of the bloody atrocities committed on the Sudanese kids by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) is brutally real. It makes you cringe in horror. The film will also remind you a lot of Edward Norton's American History X.
Gerard Butler bares absolutely no physical resemblance to Sam but nevertheless gets into the skin of his character with aplomb. The film revolves around him and just like Sam he single-handedly takes control and holds our attention in the otherwise long docudrama. His body language, mannerisms, glance, psychological unrest speaks volumes of how talented an actor he is. One wonders why someone would waste him in moronic romcoms like The Bounty Hunter! Michael Shannon as Sam's best friend and fellow druggie Donnie impresses too.
Machine Gun Preacher is about preaching and practicing philanthropy. Intense and disturbing, it's a must watch provided you are not too faint hearted.
Verdict: Very Good
Times of India
Machine Gun Preacher showcases one man's journey from hooliganism to humanitarianism.
Machine Gun Preacher is a biopic on Sam Childers, an outlaw biker who amended his errant lifestyle and eventually became the gun bearing messiah for the children of war-torn South Sudan, Africa.
Sam (Gerard Butler) an outlaw biker, drowns himself in drugs and alcohol when he's not in prison serving for drug dealing and other criminal charges. He prefers his wife do the striptease for better income than take up some low paying dignified job.
The hooliganism however comes to a sudden standstill when he realizes he's gone way too far. He takes to Jesus and the church lands him in Sudan where he finds himself staring at the loss of innocent lives in the war-torn barren land of Africa.
Finding redemption in the process of saving innocent lives, Sam not only lets go of his indecent ways but also takes an active part in the Sudan People's Liberation movement.
From a white supremacist who beats up the blacks, to the father who devotes his life for the well being of the Sudanese orphans over his own, the film takes you on an emotional roller coaster ride.
You end up asking yourself, how far can you go to help someone who may not survive to see another day!
Directed by Mark Forster, Machine Gun Preacher is uplifting and depressing at the same time. War, bloodshed, poverty, apathetic society turning a blind eye to those in dire need...the film leaves you with a heavy heart. It makes you want to google Sam Childers and tell him how ashamed you are for not knowing about his fight in Africa, for not thinking beyond your regular petty worries.
The cinematic depiction of the bloody atrocities committed on the Sudanese kids by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) is brutally real. It makes you cringe in horror. The film will also remind you a lot of Edward Norton's American History X.
Gerard Butler bares absolutely no physical resemblance to Sam but nevertheless gets into the skin of his character with aplomb. The film revolves around him and just like Sam he single-handedly takes control and holds our attention in the otherwise long docudrama. His body language, mannerisms, glance, psychological unrest speaks volumes of how talented an actor he is. One wonders why someone would waste him in moronic romcoms like The Bounty Hunter! Michael Shannon as Sam's best friend and fellow druggie Donnie impresses too.
Machine Gun Preacher is about preaching and practicing philanthropy. Intense and disturbing, it's a must watch provided you are not too faint hearted.
Verdict: Very Good
Times of India
No comments:
Post a Comment