Michael's Movie Grade: A-
A superb historical drama.
This movie tells the true story of the friendship between Benjamin Franklin and the preacher George Whitefield. This unlikely friendship between a deeply devout Christian and a man who has always been critical of religion and skeptical of God's existence is the heart of the film. The way these two very different men come to care for and respect each other is quite touching. Through this movie, you even get to see how the two clearly influenced one another. The way this relationship folds out and develops makes it so that we are fully capable of seeing what each saw in each other. Though they do argue about their theological and moral differences even in these scenes you can see how much they love each other. John Paul Sneed and Jonathan Blair's performances add very much to this. John Paul Sneed is one of the best Benjamin Franklins I have ever seen in a movie. He is so incredibly convincing that sometimes you almost forgot that he is not the real historical figure. George Whitefield is a very difficult character for any actor. To play this character you must be loud and boisterous (while never being over the top), while also being gentle and tender. That Jonathan Blair pulls this off perfectly is no small feat. This is a truly incredibly performance. The two actors also have fantastic chemistry with each other. They work extremely well together whether in scenes where they are gently ribbing each other or in the powerful scene later on when they are having a particularly heated argument. The film's concluding scene could have come off as a forced sermon but because of how we have seen this relationship unfold it feels like an earned emotional moment.
Despite some poor special effects in one scene, this is a very handsome movie filled with the type of beautiful period look that audiences have grown to expect from this type of film.
This is a truly great film that I hope finds a big audience.
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