Heaven Is for Real (film)

For the book of the same name, see Heaven Is for Real.
Heaven Is for Real

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Randall Wallace
Produced by Joe Roth
T. D. Jakes
Screenplay by Randall Wallace
Christopher Parker
Based on Heaven Is for Real 
by Todd Burpo
and Lynn Vincent
Starring Connor Corum
Greg Kinnear
Kelly Reilly
Lane Styles
Margo Martindale
Thomas Haden Church
Music by Nick Glennie-Smith
Cinematography Dean Semler
Edited by John Wright
Production
company
Distributed by TriStar Pictures
Release dates
  • April 16, 2014 (2014-04-16)
Running time
 99 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $12 million[2]
Box office $101.3 million[2]

Heaven Is for Real is a 2014 American Christian drama film[3] directed by Randall Wallace and written by Wallace and Christopher Parker, based on Pastor Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent's 2010 book of the same name. The film stars Connor Corum, Greg Kinnear, Kelly Reilly, Jacob Vargas, and Nancy Sorel. The soundtrack of the film contains Darlene Zschech's song "Heaven in Me".[4] The film was released on April 16, 2014.

The film has received mixed critical reviews, but nevertheless was a box office success, grossing $101 million.

Plot

Four-year-old Colton Burpo (Connor Corum) is the son of Todd Burpo (Greg Kinnear), pastor of Crossroads Wesleyan Church in Imperial, Nebraska. Colton says he experienced Heaven during emergency surgery. He describes to his incredulous family about having looked down to see the doctor operating, his mother calling people to pray in the waiting room, and his father in another room yelling at God not to let him die. He also spoke of meeting his great-grandfather, who died long before he was born, his unborn sister that died in a miscarriage whom no one had told him about, and meeting Jesus, describing his physical appearance.

As Colton continues to speak about his experiences in Heaven, Todd is faced with the dilemma of determining if his son's experience was genuine or a hallucination based on a near-death experience. His wariness about discussing the situation erodes the confidence of the board members of his church, and he is contacted by several members of the media. When Todd is called by a radio station for an impromptu interview on the air, he invites them to attend his sermon the following Sunday. At church, he preaches about his son's experiences and reveals his support for him.

Following the events at the church, Todd is doing research on the internet and finds a story about a Lithuanian girl who had a similar experience. She painted a portrait of Jesus, and Colton stated that her portrait was similar to how Jesus looked when he visited Heaven. Todd tries to speak to Colton further about the picture but he is interrupted by his wife revealing to him that she is pregnant with another child. The movie concludes with photos of Colton and his family in the present day.

Cast

Production and development

In May 2011, Sony Pictures acquired the film rights of the book Heaven Is for Real. It was announced that Joe Roth would be producing the film with T.D. Jakes for the TriStar Pictures division of Sony Pictures.[7] On August 23, 2012 Braveheart writer and Secretariat director Randall Wallace signed on to direct.[8]

On March 19, 2013, it was announced that Greg Kinnear was in talks to star, and he later joined the cast.[5] On April 15, 2013, actress Kelly Reilly joined the film.[6]

On July 17, it was reported that composer Nick Glennie-Smith would score the film,[9] and behind the scenes the director of photography was Dean Semler.[10]

Shooting began in the last week of July 2013 in Selkirk, Manitoba.[4]

Release

The film was released on April 16, 2014 and held a 3,048 theater count through its 4th week.[9]

Reception

Box office

At the end of box office run, the Heaven Is for Real earned a gross of $91,443,253 in North America and $9,026,536 in other territories for a worldwide total of $100,469,789 against a budget of $12 million.[11]

The film grossed $3.7 million on its opening day. It went on to gross a total of $22.5 million in its opening weekend, playing in 2,417 theaters for a $9,318 per theatre average finishing in second behind Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

The biggest market in the other territories being Mexico, Poland, Colombia where the film grossed $1.9 million, $1.4 million, $1.2 million.[12]

Critical response

Heaven Is for Real received mixed reviews. The film holds a 46% "rotten" rating on the film aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 80 reviews, with an average score of 5.4/10. The site's consensus states, "Heaven Is for Real boasts a well-written screenplay and a talented cast, but overextends itself with heavy-handed sequences depicting concepts it could have trusted the audience to take on faith."[13] On another website, Metacritic, it has a 47/100 score (indicating "mixed or average"), based on reviews from 27 critics.[14]

In CinemaScore polls conducted during the opening weekend, cinema audiences gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[15]

Jeb Lund, a columnist for The Guardian [16] expressed skepticism about the depiction of the story in the film. The red markers which Colton Burpo claims Jesus had on his hands and feet are well known. The boy could have easily guessed his minister father would have been praying or nursing staff could have told him. When Colton remembered things his parents claimed they had not told him, other people may have told Colton or his parents and may have forgotten. Also, young children sometimes have trouble telling dreams from reality and can be coached.[17]

Accolades

List of awards and nominations[18]
Award Category Recipient Result
2014 Teen Choice Awards Choice Movie: Drama Heaven is for Real Nominated
41st People's Choice Awards Favorite Dramatic Movie Heaven is for Real Nominated

References

  1. ↑ "HEAVEN IS FOR REAL (PG)". Columbia Pictures. British Board of Film Classification. May 13, 2014. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Heaven Is for Real". boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Heaven Is for Real (2014)". IMDB.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "'Heaven Is for Real' movie starts filming in Canada". christianretailing.com. July 30, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  5. 1 2 "Greg Kinnear in Talks to Star in Sony's 'Heaven Is for Real'". hollywoodreporter.com. March 19, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  6. 1 2 "Kelly Reilly Lands Lead In Sony Drama ‘Heaven Is For Real’". deadline.com. April 15, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  7. ↑ "‘Heaven Is For Real’ Headed For Movie Adaptation Through Sony Pictures, Joe Roth And T.D. Jakes". deadline.com. May 9, 2011. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  8. ↑ "'Braveheart' Writer Randall Wallace Believes 'Heaven Is For Real'". indiewire.com. August 24, 2012. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  9. 1 2 "Nick Glennie-Smith to Score Randall Wallace’s ‘Heaven Is for Real’". filmmusicreporter.com. July 17, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
  10. ↑ "TriStar Pictures' 'HEAVEN IS FOR REAL' begins production.". prnewswire.com. July 17, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Heaven is for Real (2014) - Box Office Mojo". boxofficemojo.com.
  12. ↑ "Heaven is for Real international box office". boxofficemojo.com. IMDB. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Heaven Is for Real (2014)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Heaven Is for Real". Metacritic. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
  15. ↑ "Weekend Report: 'Captain' Three-peats, 'Heaven' Rises Over Easter Weekend". boxofficemojo.com. IMDB. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  16. ↑ Jeb Lund. "Jeb Lund". the Guardian. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  17. ↑ "How Hollywood Screwed Up a Simple Tale of a Four-Year-Old Going to Heaven and Coming Back - VICE - United States". VICE. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  18. ↑ "Heaven is for Real Awards". imdb.com. IMDB. Retrieved January 22, 2015.

See also

External links

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