We got a number of emails from someone claiming to be a volunteer for "atheist celebrity Matthew Chapman," the writer/director. They're trying to sell it as an atheist movie. As LMNOP points out, it was sold differently at Sundance. In some other places, I've seen it called a "race-against-time thriller."

I guess this movie is everything to everybody.

Review on CNN seems pretty positive and interviews (briefly) the writer/director: http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/07/08/new-atheist-movie-the-ledge-evangelizes-godlessness/?&hpt=hp_c2

I saw this. I really, really, enjoyed it. Gavin, the atheist hero, was a good guy. About the only bad thing they did was have an argument between the evangelical husband and Gavin, in which Gavin was shouting and cursing, while the Christian was quiet and calm. Still, that's the ONLY part that made me groan.

Gavin is charismatic and confident, and all around pretty cool. I'd like to have more friends like him. While the evangelical husband was about as exciting as sandpaper.

Watch it. You wont regret it.

"Jesus Camp" is pro-secular in the sense that it should scare the bejeezus out of you. The main church in the film is located off I-70 near Kansas City. When I first saw "Jesus Camp" my first thought was of how I had bought gas at that exit a couple of times.

...while the only secularist we see on screen dedicates himself to being as big a douche as possible in his given time.

Who was the secularist in Book of Eli? Oldman's character was quite enthusiastic about religion, for its utility in manipulating and directing people.

Wait.... Jesus Camp was pro-secular????

Signed, Duchess Champagne

:P

Meh, I'm willing to bet the gut-feeling of Hollywood we-don't-want-to-take-a-too-definitive-stance will turn out to be right. They won't want to totally say "Atheists are incapable of deep decisions because they lack a concept of an afterlife" and they won't want to say "No, you don't need religion at all to be moral." They'll walk that well worn rut in the middle of the road and make sure both sides have their good characters and the ending is as vague as possible.

It's a shame, really. Religion has movies like "The Book of Eli" were a machete-wielding bad-ass takes time out of his day to teach us all that we need faith in something by slaughtering every last villain he finds on his way to a promised land while the only secularist we see on screen dedicates himself to being as big a douche as possible in his given time. There are other movies, as we're all aware, highlighting the notion that you need faith in something, maybe not the Christan God, but something non-scientific. Pro-secular films are largely relegated to documentaries like Jesus Camp and Religulous (both well done).

I'm not saying we need a blockbuster to make our point, but it'd be nice to let the movie-going audience at large have a peak at how rancid religion can be from time to time in a film that doesn't just let unfounded faith off the hook in the last ten minutes.

Probably wait for the review on http://www.movieguide.org before making up my mind ...

This sounds like an odd rip-off of this short story by Stephen King. Then again, Sundance's write-up makes it sound different yet again:

"Atop a high-rise building, Gavin, a young hotel manager, is about to end his life. Hollis, a detective whose own world has just been turned upside down, is dispatched to the scene. As Hollis tries to persuade Gavin not to jump, each man begins to open up about his past, and we discover that neither of them is convinced that his life is worth living.
In his Sundance Film Festival debut, director/screenwriter Matthew Chapman has crafted an intense thriller filled with soulful inspiration. While the film examines the complex notion of what drives us as people, strong performances and immersive characters keep the audience on the edge of their seats. The Ledge is a nuanced character study of love, faith, and convictions that will leave you with a question . . . How far are you willing to go for what you believe?"

Sure, the same themes about faith and purpose, but immensely less stupid and cliched sounding.

Will he be eating a baby while explaining how without objective morality he can't be expected to consider sleeping with his neighbor's wife to be wrong.
I'll bet a dollar on a climax moment at the end where Gavin fall to his knees and ask jeebus to come into his heart.

The cheating wife and the murder-threatening husband sure seem like a swell pair of evangelicals. Still somehow, they will make the atheist look like the bad guy?

This was on a list of "possible break-out" summer movies.

Description as per Yahoo!:

"After embarking on a passionate affair with his evangelical neighbor's wife, Gavin soon finds himself in a battle of wills that will have life or death consequences. As a non-believing atheist, Gavin is lured by her lover's husband to the ledge of a high rise and told he has one hour to make a choice between his life or the one he loves. Without faith in an afterlife, will he be able to make a decision? It's up to police officer Hollis to save both their lives but the clock is ticking..."

I think this sounds awful, and after looking at the list of previous films made by the production company it's probably a safe bet that this one won't break the mold. I'm sure it will be filled with all sorts of misconceptions about atheism and I can't wait to do a full critique once it comes out. Unfortunately, my atheist sister and partner-in-crime won't be around this summer for us to go and mock it together. Maybe one of the organizations in-town will have an outing.

On a related note, what exactly is a "non-believing atheist"? The opposite of S.E. Cupp?