Genre:
Soul Surfer tells the true story of Bethany Hamilton's struggle to the top of the pro-surfing scene, even after a shark attack leaves her with just one arm...
Bethany Hamilton’s story is a great and inspiring one. A promising young surfer, 13-year-old Bethany tragically lost her arm in a shark attack while training, and had to subsequently learn how to do the most everyday tasks all over again. While even getting dressed in the morning proved a challenge, she was determined to get back in the water, realising her dreams
of becoming a pro-surfer.
Soul Surfer is her story, adapted from her autobiography, and based entirely on true events. So why does it feel like a contrived teen drama of the lowest form? Every moment of triumph feels false, every loss of faith seems wholly convenient. Bethany’s story is a great and inspiring one, but this film certainly never reaches the heights she deserves. Over-reliance on Christian imagery and stunt casting push it down even lower, and you can’t help wondering how much the film could have benefitted from their absence.
We can only assume that there are no embellishments or invented scenarios in Soul Surfer, and the structure of the movie certainly suggests as much. Instead of dipping into despair around the mid-way point before hitting the triumphant crescendo in the third act, the movie meanders between low and high with such frequency it’s hard to believe in Bethany’s struggle at all. With every day comes a new attitude towards her tragic accident, and it makes for a tiring movie to watch. If you're going to sugar-coat everything, why not jig about the time less for a more coherent narrative?
You also know how it will end, as no one makes a movie about a girl with one arm realising her limitations. There are some surprises, but they’re so overloaded in optimism and religious attitudes that they again make the film seem false, no better than a Nicola Sparks adaptation starring Miley Cyrus or Hilary Duff. It might have been an inspiring tale for young girls looking for their faith in a complicated world, but it explores no other options in the process, and Bethany’s faith barely wavers.
For that reason alone, British viewers might have more of a problem with the film than our US counterparts. Soul Surfer is the kind of film one would only find on the Disney Channel, and feels entirely out of place on the big screen. As a TV movie, it may have worked better, as a smaller venue makes for fewer objections on portrayals of faith and resolved hopefulness the film wears on its sleeve throughout.
The stunt casting I mentioned earlier comes courtesy of a certain Carrie Underwood, the American Idol singer making her acting debut as Bethany’s Bible studies teacher and mentor. Better not quit her day job, as the performance here is by far the worst thing about the film. Dialogue like hers needed a strong actress to pull it off successfully, and it’s safe to say that she sings better than she talks. Anna Sophia Robb as Bethany is the only standout, a bright spark in a film desperatly in need of the emotive performance she pulls off with ease and professionalism. Helen Hunt and Dennis Quaid are never more than adequate as her supportive parents, and a young supporting cast hold the film together as best they can.
What comes to mind when watching Soul Surfer is some kind of extended montage (we do get an actual training montage around the two-thirds point), never the story of a young girl's difficult life and inspiring resolve in the face of great adversity. Nothing holds together and the emotional core that should have been thrown in audience’s faces is nowhere to be seen. What emerges is an over-sentimental film with no sentiment, and there really isn’t any point in that is there?
of becoming a pro-surfer.
Soul Surfer is her story, adapted from her autobiography, and based entirely on true events. So why does it feel like a contrived teen drama of the lowest form? Every moment of triumph feels false, every loss of faith seems wholly convenient. Bethany’s story is a great and inspiring one, but this film certainly never reaches the heights she deserves. Over-reliance on Christian imagery and stunt casting push it down even lower, and you can’t help wondering how much the film could have benefitted from their absence.
We can only assume that there are no embellishments or invented scenarios in Soul Surfer, and the structure of the movie certainly suggests as much. Instead of dipping into despair around the mid-way point before hitting the triumphant crescendo in the third act, the movie meanders between low and high with such frequency it’s hard to believe in Bethany’s struggle at all. With every day comes a new attitude towards her tragic accident, and it makes for a tiring movie to watch. If you're going to sugar-coat everything, why not jig about the time less for a more coherent narrative?
You also know how it will end, as no one makes a movie about a girl with one arm realising her limitations. There are some surprises, but they’re so overloaded in optimism and religious attitudes that they again make the film seem false, no better than a Nicola Sparks adaptation starring Miley Cyrus or Hilary Duff. It might have been an inspiring tale for young girls looking for their faith in a complicated world, but it explores no other options in the process, and Bethany’s faith barely wavers.
For that reason alone, British viewers might have more of a problem with the film than our US counterparts. Soul Surfer is the kind of film one would only find on the Disney Channel, and feels entirely out of place on the big screen. As a TV movie, it may have worked better, as a smaller venue makes for fewer objections on portrayals of faith and resolved hopefulness the film wears on its sleeve throughout.
The stunt casting I mentioned earlier comes courtesy of a certain Carrie Underwood, the American Idol singer making her acting debut as Bethany’s Bible studies teacher and mentor. Better not quit her day job, as the performance here is by far the worst thing about the film. Dialogue like hers needed a strong actress to pull it off successfully, and it’s safe to say that she sings better than she talks. Anna Sophia Robb as Bethany is the only standout, a bright spark in a film desperatly in need of the emotive performance she pulls off with ease and professionalism. Helen Hunt and Dennis Quaid are never more than adequate as her supportive parents, and a young supporting cast hold the film together as best they can.
What comes to mind when watching Soul Surfer is some kind of extended montage (we do get an actual training montage around the two-thirds point), never the story of a young girl's difficult life and inspiring resolve in the face of great adversity. Nothing holds together and the emotional core that should have been thrown in audience’s faces is nowhere to be seen. What emerges is an over-sentimental film with no sentiment, and there really isn’t any point in that is there?
