Do You Believe?

Do You Believe?

A review by John Haynes

Today I saw the movie Do You Believe? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4056738/?ref_=nv_sr_1 This was a fantastic movie. Perhaps the best I have ever seen. It takes place in New York City. At least I assume it’s NYC; they mention a city of 10 million people, and I think New York is the only one that fits that bill. It involves the lives of twelve different people will will end up connecting at some point. These people are from all walks of life: a street preacher, a homeless mother and her child, a doctor, a nurse, an EMT, a pastor and his wife, a pregnant homeless woman, a couple street thugs, a retired man and his wife, a church janitor, a combat veteran, a woman whose father won’t have her, and a lawyer. I realize that’s more than twelve, but the movie said there were twelve, and obviously there were more than twelve actors in the movie. So take your pick.

Their names (in order above) are Malachi (Delroy Lindo), Samantha (Mira Sorvino), Lily (Makenzie Moss), Dr. Farell (Sean Astin), Elena (Valerie Domínguez), Bobby (Liam Matthews), Matthew (Ted McGinley), Grace (Tracy Melchior), Maggie (Madison Pettis), Kriminal (Senyo Amoaku), Pretty Boy (Shwayze), retired man (Lee Majors), his wife (Cybill Shepherd), Joe (Brian Bosworth), Carlos (Joseph Julian Soria), Lacey (Alexa PenaVega), and Andrea (Andrea Logan White).

The movie begins with a pastor who is driving home at night. He sees a street preacher who is carrying a life-sized cross. The man asks the pastor if he believes in the cross of Christ. The pastor replies that yes, he does. What are you going to do about it? is the follow-up question.

The pastor drives away from that encounter and sees a young woman on the street. He stops to ask if he can help her, and sees that she is pregnant. He drives home with the woman, but his wife says she can’t stay there. So he buys her some food and takes her to a motel.

That Sunday, the pastor has done something very different in church. In every seat is a small cross (about 4 inches high). There is also a big cross at the front of the church. As he preaches, he tells about meeting that street preacher (Malachi). He tells how he was challenged about what he believed. He then challenges his congregation to make a difference in people’s lives. And they do.

Joe, the church janitor, is in the emergency room waiting to be seen. He meets Lily and her mother (Samantha). He gives Lily his place in line. Then he invites them to stay at his place. He tells them that he has a friend he can stay with. But that’s not true. Joe sleeps on a park bench and becomes sicker.

The retired man and his wife (they are not given names in the movie) meet Samantha and Lily at a soup kitchen where they are volunteering. They have a break and ask to eat with them. I was impressed that the man prays for the meal, and he ends his prayer, In Jesus’ name, Amen. That’s not something you hear very often, especially in a movie. This couple has recently lost a daughter to a drunk driving accident, so they are hurting a lot. But they invite Samantha and Lily to stay in their home. They do.

An EMT (Bobby) is trying to save the life of a man trapped under a huge roller. He cannot get the man extricated from it, and that puts his life in serious peril. So he does the only thing he knows how to do. He tells the man about Christ and the sacrifice he made on the cross for him. The man receives Christ, but not before Bobby places the cross he received at church in his hand. His wife comes and finds the cross. She is angry because she thinks the EMT didn’t do his job. He only tried to proselytize. She ends up suing him. More on that later.

Carlos is a combat veteran who has a great deal of trouble getting back in the mainstream of normal life. He is thinking about suicide. He is on a bridge and is thinking about jumping. Across the street, he sees a woman who appears to be thinking the same thing (Lacey). He calls to her, and she answers. Wanna get a cup of coffee? he asks. Sure, she answers. They’re talking, and things seem to be going well. Lacey invites him into her place for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but he says no. He’s too broken; he has to go. Lacey is very sad, but she lets him go. What else can she do?

Earlier in the movie, when the street preacher (Malachi) was talking to the pastor, some thugs are in a van. The preacher talks to the driver, who pulls a gun on him. The preacher says he’s ready to go; Are you? Two of the thugs in that van are brothers. Their mother is a Christian, but they are a long way from God. They go to pull a job and kill a man and take his money. Except that the younger one (Pretty Boy) can’t pull the trigger on the man. But he does take the money.

Later the older brother (Kriminal) asks him about the money. Pretty Boy says he doesn’t have it. He has given it to the pastor (Matthew). Kriminal finds out where the church is and goes to get it back. He pulls a gun on the pastor, but the pastor says he’s ready to meet Jesus. Not again, thinks Kriminal.

Bobby, the EMT is pulled into court and charged with many civil violations. He is going to lose everything just because he won’t surrender and say he was wrong for witnessing to that dying man. His wife is the nurse Elena, whose brother is the combat vet Carlos. Elena isn’t a Christian, but she’s been going to church with Bobby. But she wants him to give in so they don’t lose everything. Bobby stands fast. We don’t see the trial, but the attorney for the plaintiff (Andrea) tells him, See I told you so, at the end of the trial.

Joe ends up back in the hospital. He’s dying. Samantha goes to visit him, and he has just one request. Can you bring Lily back to see me? Of course. But will Joe live to see her? You’ll have to watch the movie to find out.

Some people die in the movie. Some people come to a saving knowledge of Jesus. Not everything is rosy. A little bit like real life. But it’s all good news.

The end of the movie is wonderful too. We hear the song “We Believe” by the Newsboys, and it’s a great song. So how about you? Do You Believe?