Unsung Hero
[info headline="Release date"]7 December 2018[/info]
[info headline="Language"]English, Hindi[/info]
[info headline="IMDb Rating"]7.4[/info]
[info headline="Genre"]Action, Fantasy, Science Fiction[/info]
[info headline="Cast"]Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson[/info]
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Being a fan of the Christian pop duo for KING & COUNTRY
or having even the slightest interest in the musical genre probably goes a long
way toward making the drama “Unsung Hero” more meaningful. For everyone else,
it plays like a blandly well-intentioned tale of triumph over adversity and an
earnest celebration of the importance of family.
And what a family it is. The massive Aussie brood at the
film’s center provides both the inspiration for the story and the
behind-the-scenes machinery to tell it. Joel Smallbone, half of the singing
group with brother Luke, co-wrote and co-directed the film with Richard L.
Ramsey. He also stars as his own father, David Smallbone, a music promoter who
moved his pregnant wife and their six kids from Sydney to Nashville in the
early 1990s with dreams of making it big in the United States. (A younger
actor, Diesel La Torraca, plays Joel as a child with a natural yearning to
perform.) Stick around for the credits, and you’ll discover how various members
of the clan appear in minor supporting roles throughout.
But this isn’t a music biopic or even an origin story, even
though much of the plot centers on whether older sister Rebecca can secure a
record contract with her pure, clear voice, which could rescue the family
financially. (Spoiler: she does and goes on to become Grammy winner Rebecca St.
James; for KING & COUNTRY has won multiple Grammys, as well.) This is, as
the title suggests, a tribute to the person who held the family together when
everything was falling apart: matriarch Helen Smallbone, played with optimism
and authenticity by Daisy Betts. “Unsung Hero” follows the highs and lows of
the Smallbones' efforts to stay afloat in a foreign land, but Helen’s
resiliency—as well as her faith—provides a consistent through-line. The casting
of Kirrilee Berger as Rebecca is particularly effective since she so closely
resembles Betts, adding believability to their mother-daughter bond.
We know these attractive and talented people will be fine
even before they set foot in their local church and meet the big-hearted
neighbors who will rally around them in times of need. It’s all very affirming
to the Christian audience it’s geared toward and somewhat predictable from a
narrative standpoint.
What is surprising, though, is that there are actual moments
of raw emotion within the workmanlike direction and episodic script. Things get
ugly. Pride takes over. Having dragged his family halfway around the world to
an empty rental home, and with job prospects falling through left and right,
David feels depressed and resentful. He lashes out at the friendly fellow
churchgoer (Lucas Black), whom he feels has been too generous alongside his
perky wife, played by Hallmark Channel and Great American Family mainstay
Candace Cameron Bure. Helen, in a rare show of anger, even explodes at David at
one point.
“Unsung Hero” could have used more of such emotional
honesty. But it ultimately must deliver a broad uplift that’s palatable for the
whole family, so it tends to skim the surface. And aside from the parents and
Rebecca, the characterization is woefully lacking; the other kids are all kind
of a perky blur. Joel Smallbone has a solid screen presence in what must have
been a challenging role, but his choices behind the camera with Ramsey feel
mostly pedestrian.
The ‘90s costume design is on point, though—so many bad
sweaters on display—and the soundtrack of secular pop songs, including Jesus
Jones and Seal, is period-specific if a little on-the-nose lyrically. For the
most part, “Unsung Hero” does what David Smallbone himself didn’t do: It shies
away from taking risks.
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