Breakthrough Parent Guide

“You have a purpose. You are loved.” So Joyce Smith (Chrissy Metz) repeatedly tells her moody 14-year-old son, John (Marcel Ruiz). Joyce is concerned about her increasingly uncommunicative teen and then the unthinkable happens – he falls through the lake ice and drowns. John is declared dead, Joyce prays, and John’s pulse miraculously returns. But he is hanging to life by a thread which may snap at any minute. Can John’s family, church, and wider community exercise their faith and call down a miracle from heaven?

There are some things this based-on-a-true-story film does well. Breakthrough has an earnest, multiracial cast, who, despite the fact that they sometimes seem to be reciting lines rather than living them, do so with real sincerity. And it is great to see a movie that casts a plus sized woman in a leading role: no plastic Barbie mom here. The movie also takes on the joys and trials of being part of a church congregation and portrays the petty conflicts that can arise when well-meaning people irritate each other as well as the wonderful acts of kindness and support that a faith community can provide. And the film is almost entirely free of objectionable content, unless viewers are squeamish about medical scenes involving blood or needles.

Unfortunately, Breakthrough also has some significant near misses. The first comes with Joyce’s journey of faith. Watching Joyce, viewers may be driven to wonder – as do her husband, Brian (Josh Lucas), and pastor (Topher Grace) – where the line is between steadfast faith and delusional determination. When Pastor Jason admits that he has doubts about the likelihood of John’s recovery, Brian confesses, “I believe in God. But maybe that only goes so far with something like this.” This leads to the most interesting questions in the film. Is Joyce faith-filled or irrational? Is her faith based in God’s will or her preferred outcome? Is Brian faithless or just realistic? And it’s a real disappointment that the script doesn’t go deeper here – it would be a far more compelling film if it did. The movie also looks past Joyce’s unyielding faith to peer into the brokenness of her own soul. And it’s these perspectives on Joyce – her faith and her brokenness – that should provide the heart of the film. Unfortunately, the movie’s biggest weakness is that Joyce’s story feels like a Sunday School film – carefully curated to cover the points in the lesson but too tidy and sanitized for real life. We see Joyce’s tears, but we don’t really feel her pain. And because her anguish doesn’t go deep enough, it is difficult to feel the cathartic power of the grace that comes into her life.

The movie also has another near miss, this time with the aftermath of John’s miraculous recovery. Too often, films like this don’t ask the hard question, “What about the people who don’t get the miracles they need?” Breakthrough raises the question…and then leaves it hanging. Not going deeper here is a real lost opportunity for this production and keeps it from moving beyond its formulaic box, where it could find greater power and resonance.

Criticisms aside, Breakthrough is the perfect film for Christians looking for a movie that affirms their existing beliefs. Christians (or non-believers) who are grappling with feelings of divine abandonment, loss or doubt may feel that the movie isn’t able to break through their pain to provide the inspiration and comfort they seek.