If someone approached you and offered you anything that you wanted, what would you say? Then what if their next statement was what it was going to cost you. Would you give anything to get whatever you wanted?
In the new film, The Shift, in theaters now, Kevin Garner (Kristoffer Polaha) is confronted with a very real and horrifying offer from someone called the Benefactor. Played with exceptional chill and swagger by Neal McDonough, the Benefactor has the ability to give everything you could imagine and at the same time, he can also take away anything too. As many of us would, Kevin at first believes it’s a joke and that someone is playing with him, but very quickly, the Benefactor proves his abilities and how real everything is. This then sets Kevin on a path of dizzying universe hopping where he sees many different possible outcomes for his life.
Based on the book of Job, the story moves deftly from circumstance to circumstance, forcing Kevin at every turn to confront what he wants and ultimately, compare this to what he knows he should do.
I have been looking forward to watching this film for a long time. With several friends working on the feature, I have been following the progress since day one, so when I was offered an early screening, I jumped at the chance. This time, I took my teenage son with me. I was curious to see what he thought of the film as well since we are heavy science fiction geeks in our home.
As the movie opened, the first thing I noticed was the quality of the filmmaking, sound, lighting, and the script. Having spent most of my career bouncing between faith films and mainstream projects, this is always something that has bothered me. In a lot of cases, a good story can outweigh amateur filmmaking or working with lower end equipment, etc. The Shift hit it out of the ballpark immediately with high quality production values and a script that flowed easily from situation to situation without getting too preachy or full of itself.
As Kevin shifts through universes and experiences his own life in many, many, different ways, the pain he experiences each time as well as his responses are anything but typical faith based fare. As a screenwriter I often critique movies that have characters give long sweeping monologues or spouting scripture at every turn. Even my pastor friends don’t do that on a regular basis so when I see it in a movie, it bothers me. The Shift hit a natural tone and pacing very well. Ultimately, there were only a few scenes that felt like the Bible was pushed into daily conversation.
I think what impressed me most about the film was my son’s reaction to it. Having grown up on film sets, attending an advanced screening of a movie isn’t a huge deal for him. In fact afterwards, he said that he figured he was basically going with me so I wouldn’t have to walk across a parking lot in the dark by myself. (Not gonna lie – that was part of the reason I asked him to join me!) But he said that he was very quickly drawn into the film and he appreciated the story. In fact we not only talked about it the whole way home that night, but for several days afterwards. Even during his time online talking to friends, he wasn’t afraid to talk about this film and recommend it.
When I asked my son what was so powerful for him, he said the main point was that it showed how ugly life can actually be. He pointed out that often, in faith films, the life is more sanitized and fairy tale than realistic. Even the hard times in people’s lives don’t always feel real and even in the few times they do, the response people gives isn’t what you would normally run into.
With The Shift, he said that there are horrifying circumstances (including violence which you usually don’t see in faith films), and other really difficult things that Kevin needs to deal with. My son felt that Kevin dealt with it in more of a way that feels like what all of us would do. Now as a writer, I can understand those faith films he referred to often show an example of how as believers, we should respond. But when you look at them through a mainstream lens, he’s right. It feels more disconnected from reality when that’s all you see. This makes Kevin’s struggles in this film more real and in touch with what most of us have in our lives.
For days afterward, my son would come to me and say “You know, I was thinking about this scene…” I love that. Teenage boys aren’t exactly known for having deep philosophical or Biblical discussions with their moms so for me? The Shift knocked it out of the ballpark. And to hear him recommending it to online friends who aren’t believers – that made it even better.
If you’d like to learn more about the making of The Shift including more about what it was like to be on set with several big name powerhouse actors and also, who turned down the project, check out my interview with first time writer/director Brock Heasley.
Have you seen The Shift? I would love to know what you think! Join the conversation on Facebook or Instagram.
The Shift, from Angel Studios (The Chosen, Sound of Freedom) is in theaters now.
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