As you may already be aware, this is a Christian film based partly on the life and work of "Papa Joe" Bradford, a former convict who founded a special program for "at risk" children in Nashville, Tennessee. While there is a definite religious agenda here, it's not too preachy and avoids promoting any specific church or doctrine.
The main reason why I give this as high a rating as I do is that the story of Samantha Crawford's search for her husband's murderer is quite riveting in places; there are some truly suspenseful and surprising moments here. Most of the acting is quite good, as is the cinematography, which shows some really captivating shots of storm clouds, waterfalls, and the like, as well as realistic filming of inner-city Nashville.
Still, the plot is all over the place, and the stories of Samantha and her childhood friend Joe do not intertwine quite as well as they could. The pervasive and schmaltzy soundtrack is distracting and seems a bit too intent on telling us how to feel about this and that. This entire film would have worked so much better if there had been more focus on simply relating the stories without trying to manipulate the audience's perceptions and emotions. While to its credit, the central Christian message keeps itself out of the film until toward the end, UNCONDITIONAL always seems to be on the verge of making some heavy-handed moral. The time-frame is also unclear; e.g., Joe Bradford is incarcerated for computer hacking, yet they still play phonograph records in the prison(?) While the film tries to be grittily realistic in places, the final effect falls flat, i.e., "We can show bloody murder, inner-city life in the 'projects,' and prison brawls, but _please_, no f-bombs, sexual references, or any of that type of stuff!!" The dialog is probably the most problematical element here. The creators were obviously trying to avoid an "R" rating, but this could have been better accomplished by simply having less (or at least less audible) dialog in the rougher spots.
Such is also the case with the ludicrously fake prison-yard fight scene. In the Special Features, one of the directors states that the actual fight that occurred during Joe Bradford's incarceration was "much more brutal than we could show on film." That being the case, it would have been more effective just to show the whole thing summarily and/or hazily, allowing the audience to tell what's going on without having to see it in graphic detail.
All the same, UNCONDITIONAL has many fine moments. The children (and theme of childhood in general) are particularly great in every respect. Bradford's first encounter with God's love (while in isolation during his prison stay) is also extremely well-done and worthy of mention.
The main reason why I give this as high a rating as I do is that the story of Samantha Crawford's search for her husband's murderer is quite riveting in places; there are some truly suspenseful and surprising moments here. Most of the acting is quite good, as is the cinematography, which shows some really captivating shots of storm clouds, waterfalls, and the like, as well as realistic filming of inner-city Nashville.
Still, the plot is all over the place, and the stories of Samantha and her childhood friend Joe do not intertwine quite as well as they could. The pervasive and schmaltzy soundtrack is distracting and seems a bit too intent on telling us how to feel about this and that. This entire film would have worked so much better if there had been more focus on simply relating the stories without trying to manipulate the audience's perceptions and emotions. While to its credit, the central Christian message keeps itself out of the film until toward the end, UNCONDITIONAL always seems to be on the verge of making some heavy-handed moral. The time-frame is also unclear; e.g., Joe Bradford is incarcerated for computer hacking, yet they still play phonograph records in the prison(?) While the film tries to be grittily realistic in places, the final effect falls flat, i.e., "We can show bloody murder, inner-city life in the 'projects,' and prison brawls, but _please_, no f-bombs, sexual references, or any of that type of stuff!!" The dialog is probably the most problematical element here. The creators were obviously trying to avoid an "R" rating, but this could have been better accomplished by simply having less (or at least less audible) dialog in the rougher spots.
Such is also the case with the ludicrously fake prison-yard fight scene. In the Special Features, one of the directors states that the actual fight that occurred during Joe Bradford's incarceration was "much more brutal than we could show on film." That being the case, it would have been more effective just to show the whole thing summarily and/or hazily, allowing the audience to tell what's going on without having to see it in graphic detail.
All the same, UNCONDITIONAL has many fine moments. The children (and theme of childhood in general) are particularly great in every respect. Bradford's first encounter with God's love (while in isolation during his prison stay) is also extremely well-done and worthy of mention.