What Remains

A LOT OF THE CREDIT FOR THE AUTHENTICITY OF THIS FILM CAN BE CREDITED FOR THE WORK DONE BY CRESS WILLIAMS AS PASTOR JONES, MARCUS GLADNEY JR AS HIS SON, AND DIRECTOR-SCREENWRITER NATHAN SCOGGINS. MR WILLIAMS WAS BRILLIANT AT CONVEYING HOW HARD IT WAS FOR PASTOR JONES TO RECONCILE HIS SIMMERING ANGER TOWARDS THE MURDERER OF HIS WIFE (PLAYED BY KELLAN LUTZ) WITH HIS NEED TO FORGIVE HIM, AND THERE WAS SOMETHING AGONIZING ABOUT THE FACT THAT HIS ANGER CAME OUT FULL FORCE OVER SOMETHING THAT HIS SON DID. MR GLADNEY, JR WASALSO REMARKABLE AT ALTERNATING HIS CHARACTER'S ANGER AT BOTH THE MURDERER AND HIS FATHER WITH THE VULNERABLE AND SYMPATHETIC SIDES HE DISPLAYED IN THE SCENES WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND (PLAYED BY JULIANA DE STEFANO), MS. DE STEFANO ALSO CONVINCINGLY SHOWED HOW THE SAME PERSON CAN BE TENDER AT ONE TIME, AND THEN TURN SURPRISINGLY COLD AND INSENSITIVE WHEN SOMETHING GOES WRONG. DIRECTOR SCOGGINS ALSO GETS CREDIT FOR HELPING ANNE HECHE TURN HER CHARACTER OF THE SHERIFF INTO SUCH A BELIEVINGLY STRAIGHTFORWARD AND LEVEL-HEADED PERSON. I REMEMBER SEEING MS. HECHE WHEN SHE REPLACED MARY LOUISE PARKER IN "PROOF" AND I THOUGHT THAT MS. HECHE CREATED EVEN MORE DIMENSIONS FOR THE MENTALLY ILL CHARACTER THAN MS PARKER DID, AND I CAN'T HELP THINKING THAT HER OWN BATTLES WITH MENTAL ILLNESS MADE THAT CHARACTER EVEN MORE BELIEVABLE. THEREFORE, THE WAY THAT SHE USED HER CALMLY AUTHORITATIVE TONE TO CONVINCE BOTH THE FATHER AND THE SON TO DO THE RIGHT THING- ESPECIALLY WHEN SHE REMINDED THE SON ABOUT HIS "MORAL OBLIGATION"- WAS THE PERFECT ENDING TO HER TRAGICALLY SHORT CAREER. PERHAPS THE MOST TOUCHING THING ABOUT THE WHOLE FILM WAS THE DEDICATION: "IN LOVING MEMORY OF ANNE HECHE." IT REMINDED US ALL THAT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE LIVING OUT TRAGEDIES ON SCREEN CAN OFTEN BE GOING THROUGH THEIR OWN PERSONAL TRAGEDIES OFF SCREEN.

IT'S ALWAYS DIFFICULT TO KNOW WHETHER OR NOT YOU SHOULD FORGIVE PEOPLE WHO HAVE COMMITTED HORRIBLE CRIMES: DEVOUT CHRISTIANS WILL SAY THAT JESUS FORGAVE THE ROMANS WHO CRUCIFIED HIM, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE WORSE THAN THE ROMANS WHO KILLED JESUS. DOES IT MEAN THAT WE HAVE TO FORGIVE PEOPLE WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR EVEN WORSE ATROCITIES LIKE SLAVERY, THE HOLOCAUST, THE SLAUGHTER OF THE NATIVE AMERICANS, AND THE INQUISITION? AS PASTOR JONES (PLAYED BY CRESS WILLIAMS SAYS IN THE FILM, "IF YOU DON'T FORGIVE, YOU SUFFER MORE" BUT, IF YOU FORGIVE TOO QUICKLY, DOES THAT CAUSE SUFFERING FOR OTHERS? IT CERTAINLY CAUSES MORE SUFFERING FOR PASTOR JONES' SON IN THIS FILM.