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On the Screen: An origin story about hope for the life to come

DAVID ADAMS watches ‘The Hopeful’…

The Hopeful (AU – PG/US – PG)

In a word: Detailed


Tommie-Amber Pirie starts at Ellen White in The Hopeful.

Set during a time of religious turmoil in US region of New England during the mid-19th century, The Hopeful tells the origin story of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

The film, which was inspired by real events, tells the story of William Miller (played by Bill Lake), a veteran of the War of 1812 who, based on his interpretation of the Bible, believes he has calculated the year in which Jesus Christ will return.

“While the film was clearly made for an Adventist audience, the subject matter makes it of interest for any who might want to delve a little deeper into a tumultuous time in US religious history or explore how belief can shape our lives.”

Joining with charismatic figure, Joshua Himes (Michael Mancini), Miller takes his message to a growing audience which comes to include a 16-year-old girl named Ellen Harmon (Tommie-Amber Pirie) who subsequently begins to have a series of visions she believes are from God.

The movie charts how those who have followed Miller’s message – and that of subsequent preachers who nail the return of Christ down to a specific date – deal with what’s known as the ‘Great Disappointment’ when Christ doesn’t return as they anticipated and how, even as they deal with inevitable scorn and isolation that follows, they remained adherents of the ideas of Adventism (which soon comes to incorporate the idea of meeting for services on a Saturday instead of a Sunday).

Harmon, meanwhile, continues to have visions and begins to become more widely known, marrying fellow Adventist James White (Stephen MacDonald), through her visions, eventually introducing ideas – such as not eating meat – which remain part of Seventh-day Adventism today.

The film, directed by Kyle Portbury, packs a lot into an hour-and-a-half running time and is, as a result, forced to move at a fairly brisk clip. This results in a cluttered storyline (including a somewhat unnecessary framing device) which unfortunately limits the emotional engagement one might have with the main characters.

Despite the limitations of time, there is still some solid enough acting as well as some fine cinematography and sets, although the soundtrack is a little too overbearing at times in its attempts to engender an emotional response.

While the film was clearly made for an Adventist audience, the subject matter makes it of interest for any who might want to delve a little deeper into a tumultuous time in US religious history or explore how belief can shape our lives.

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