"I serve a risen savior; he's in the world today. I know that he is living, whatever men may say." So goes a popular Christian hymn, sung more often than usual at Easter time. Whether you're a Christian or not, the song highlights an important point. Without the resurrection of Jesus, who is called the Christ (as the Bible refers to him), then there is no Christianity. As one Christian in the drama "The Case for Christ" (PG, 1:52) says, "If it didn't happen, it's a house of cards." That's what makes atheist journalist Lee Strobel's methodical investigation of proof for Jesus' resurrection so interesting. Strobel chronicled his search in his 1998 best-selling book "The Case for Christ" (and followed it with several other similar books and numerous lectures and television appearances). Strobel and his wife Leslie appeared in a 2007 documentary of the same name in which they laid out the information and arguments that Lee gathered. The 2017 film with that title dramatizes the Strobels' struggle to find the truth about Jesus.
It's 1980 and Lee Strobel (Mike Vogel, from "Cloverfield", "Blue Valentine" and "The Help", as well as TV series "Bates Motel" and "Under the Dome") is an award-winning investigative journalist for the Chicago Tribune. His star is rising at his newspaper, as well as in the journalistic community, and he's pretty proud of himself. He's also deeply in love with his wife, Leslie (Erika Christensen, of 2002's "Swimfan", 2005's "Flightplan" and TV's "Parenthood"), and their young daughter, Alison (Hayley Rosenwasser). One night when the Strobels are at a restaurant celebrating Lee's latest promotion, Alison starts choking. Alfie Davis (L. Scott Caldwell from TV's "Lost", "Southland" and "Mercy Street"), a nurse who was eating in the restaurant, jumps in and saves Alison's life. Both Lee and Leslie (who are atheists) are appropriately grateful, but this dramatic experience causes Leslie to rethink her basic convictions.
Leslie starts going to church with Alfie and soon becomes a born-again Christian, to the consternation of her husband who sets out to disprove the basis of her faith. The newspaper's religion editor (Mike Pniewski) advises Lee to focus on Jesus' resurrection, but all this puts a lot of pressure on Lee. His refusal to accept Leslie's spiritual transformation creates much friction in his marriage and he takes out some of that frustration on his father (Oscar nominee Robert Forster). At work, Lee's editor (Frankie Faison) is hounding him to finish his ongoing investigation of a mysterious police shooting. Meanwhile, Lee is spending time at work, locked in his basement at home and traveling on weekends to talk to experts on the various facets of the Biblical account of Jesus' death and resurrection. Eventually, Lee's professional mentor (Brett Rice), who had been advising Lee in his search, gets frustrated and says, "At some point, young man, you're going to have to plant your flag on a mountain of uncertainty where not every question is answered. The human mind will never get to the bottom of every mystery in the cosmos." "The Case for Christ" is an entertaining and well-done, but incomplete film. The script by Brian Bird (2015's "Captive"), the acting by a talented cast (movie and TV veterans all) and the direction of Jon Gunn (2004's "My Date with Drew" and 2015's "The Week") bringing it all together result in a story that is well-told and engaging, emphasizing human interactions over preaching. The concurrent stories of Lee's search for the whole truth behind that police shooting and his efforts to disprove Jesus' resurrection effectively illustrate important parallel points in the film's plot and the growing divide between Lee and Leslie raises the stakes from a purely academic exercise to a very personal endeavor. However, by not including any serious arguments to counter its conclusions, the film amounts to little more than one family's dramatic story of change and some unchallenged assumptions. "B+"
It's 1980 and Lee Strobel (Mike Vogel, from "Cloverfield", "Blue Valentine" and "The Help", as well as TV series "Bates Motel" and "Under the Dome") is an award-winning investigative journalist for the Chicago Tribune. His star is rising at his newspaper, as well as in the journalistic community, and he's pretty proud of himself. He's also deeply in love with his wife, Leslie (Erika Christensen, of 2002's "Swimfan", 2005's "Flightplan" and TV's "Parenthood"), and their young daughter, Alison (Hayley Rosenwasser). One night when the Strobels are at a restaurant celebrating Lee's latest promotion, Alison starts choking. Alfie Davis (L. Scott Caldwell from TV's "Lost", "Southland" and "Mercy Street"), a nurse who was eating in the restaurant, jumps in and saves Alison's life. Both Lee and Leslie (who are atheists) are appropriately grateful, but this dramatic experience causes Leslie to rethink her basic convictions.
Leslie starts going to church with Alfie and soon becomes a born-again Christian, to the consternation of her husband who sets out to disprove the basis of her faith. The newspaper's religion editor (Mike Pniewski) advises Lee to focus on Jesus' resurrection, but all this puts a lot of pressure on Lee. His refusal to accept Leslie's spiritual transformation creates much friction in his marriage and he takes out some of that frustration on his father (Oscar nominee Robert Forster). At work, Lee's editor (Frankie Faison) is hounding him to finish his ongoing investigation of a mysterious police shooting. Meanwhile, Lee is spending time at work, locked in his basement at home and traveling on weekends to talk to experts on the various facets of the Biblical account of Jesus' death and resurrection. Eventually, Lee's professional mentor (Brett Rice), who had been advising Lee in his search, gets frustrated and says, "At some point, young man, you're going to have to plant your flag on a mountain of uncertainty where not every question is answered. The human mind will never get to the bottom of every mystery in the cosmos." "The Case for Christ" is an entertaining and well-done, but incomplete film. The script by Brian Bird (2015's "Captive"), the acting by a talented cast (movie and TV veterans all) and the direction of Jon Gunn (2004's "My Date with Drew" and 2015's "The Week") bringing it all together result in a story that is well-told and engaging, emphasizing human interactions over preaching. The concurrent stories of Lee's search for the whole truth behind that police shooting and his efforts to disprove Jesus' resurrection effectively illustrate important parallel points in the film's plot and the growing divide between Lee and Leslie raises the stakes from a purely academic exercise to a very personal endeavor. However, by not including any serious arguments to counter its conclusions, the film amounts to little more than one family's dramatic story of change and some unchallenged assumptions. "B+"