OK, I like Robert Duvall as much as anyone else. It's also apparent from his films that he is a believing Christian and not afraid to let anyone know it. The movie really, really wants to be a feelgood film about life-changing experiences. It pushes all the appropriate buttons in its attempt to get there. But I must say that it just never really makes it. There are two basic problems with the movie. First, we never really get an in-depth look at exactly what is eating at Luke. Secondly, none of the activities undertaken by Johnny to supposedly "change" Luke seem particularly logical or meaningful. I understand that the overtly Christian message of the movie caused a lot of dissension. I'm all for overtly Christian messages, but in this case it did not seem - to this viewer anyway - to be particularly relevant to Luke's case.
Review of Seven Days in Utopia
