The Investigator Parent Guide

James Buanacore (Wade William) has spent 20 years investigating crimes for the New York City Police Department. But all that changes when he is involved in a drug bust that goes wrong, leaving one man dead in the street. James is then given the opportunity to retire by his superiors. (In reality there is no question—he will retire.)

Then while dealing with the loss of his job, James faces another family challenge when his wife miscarries their almost full-term baby. Despite the compassion of his family and friends, James refuses to be comforted. Feeling abandoned by the God he regularly worships, he also turns his back on his religious upbringing.

Finally his brother Paul (David Sanborn), a Hollywood actor, tells James about an employment prospect. At first the retired policeman is reluctant to take a job teaching criminal justice and coaching baseball at a Christian high school but it’s the only option he has. And it seems that his tough demeanor may be just what the mouthy and disrespectful students need. Taking a stance in the classroom and on the baseball diamond, James begins to earn the respect and trust of his students and players. However, he continues to avoid participating in the morning devotionals at the school.

As his teaching skills improve he begins to educate his students about the finer points of police work. Eventually the students want to put those skills to the test, especially when the reality of Jesus Christ is questioned. Without any eyewitnesses, James and his students have to dig through historical records and circumstantial evidence in their mock investigation into the homicide of Jesus. While he leaves it up to his students to come to their own conclusion about Christ, James recognizes this is more than a classroom project for him. It becomes a personal mission to find out what he truly believes himself.

The script, written by Richard Romano, is based on the screenwriter’s own life experience as a NYPD police detective, high school teacher and coach. (He also has worked as a technical advisor with his brother Ray Romano on the television show Everybody Loves Raymond.) While the film contains few content issues for family viewing with teens, parents should note a man is killed during a drug bust and later a man is found dead in his apartment after a supposed drug deal turns ugly. The scene also depicts the grief of the young man’s father who finds his son dead on the floor. A character, in an authority position is also caught dispensing prescription drugs to students.

Applying his career expertise in a unique way, James discovers that faith isn’t necessarily blind. For both the former sergeant and his students, it becomes an act of faith to open their eyes to the evidence.

Note: This movie opened in a limited theatrical releases on September 13, 2014.

About author

Kerry Bennett

Kerry Bennett is interested in media from both a journalist and parent perspective. Along with authoring articles for several family-oriented publications, she has written for Parent Previews for over 15 years. As a parent herself, she believes parents play a powerful role in teaching media literacy in their homes.