DeniDVD Vault: Leap Of Faith - Steve Martin
May 20th 2010 16:47
Last week has been really sad for me. I lost my beloved father and have only now just emerged from the fog of grief. When I was starting to feel a little bit better, I needed something uplifting without being preachy or cheesy and I remembered how much I loved, Leap Of Faith, starring Steven Martin.
I was hesitant about watching it because it came out in 1992 and usually a movie past its 10 year anniversary loses its original zing because of the changing times that affect the attitudes of the viewing public over the years. I have always said that a really good movie is one that you can watch again in 10 years and it still retains the message and/or excitement you had when you first saw it and I'm happy to say that Leap Of Faith is still the special movie it was 18 years ago.
I love the opening scene. Rustwater, a small town, tight-knit community, where everyone knows each other and there's only one main road that leads to it that exits off the freeway. You can tell it hasn't rained for a while, the sun beats down so hard on the pavement that you can see the heat rising from the concrete - it makes the arrival of the coming caravan carrying Jonas Nightengale and his entourage ominous and foreboding. Jonas Nightingale (Steven Martin) is a fraudulent traveling Christian faith healer who dupes followers out of money, with the help of his side kick, Jane (Debra Winger) and the rest of his posse. On this particular day while traveling through Rustwater, one of their vehicles break down and they are stuck there for four days waiting for repairs, so he figures they might as well make the most out of their stay.
When I first heard of this film, I thought it would be another comedic vehicle for Martin to display the funny antics he's usually known for. While Martin is hilarious as the charismatic Nightengale, it's not the broad comedy I thought it was going to be.
Martin's Nightengale is a dark character, he's a desperate, seedy, manipulative, unrepentant man without any hope. He shamelessly flaunts his true self to the local Sheriff, Will Braverman (Liam Neeson) who's already had his number the moment he laid eyes on him. Nightengale's excuse is that as long as the people are getting their money's worth of entertainment and the performance takes their mind off their current trouble - what harm is any of it? That's all it is, another form of show-business. Jonas lost is faith a long time ago, that much is evident. And if he once had it and then lost it, there is still hope of him finding it again, which makes us wonder if his being stalled in Rustwater was coincidence.
Or Is it divine intervention which leads him to the small town? Is he there to bring entertainment in the guise of "hope" to the masses who are in financial trouble? There is a drought going on and the crops are dying out - which means the locals are losing money, some are facing foreclosure. Or are the people of Rustwater there to help bring Jonas back to the faith he lost a long time ago? Well, he does his best to turn a blind eye and keep his distance - he doesn't want to care but this community does something to him, whether he likes it or not.
He takes an interest in a local woman, Marva (Lolita Davidovich) and her young brother, Boyd (Lukas Haas) who is crippled. Boyd believes that Nightengale can heal him, and Nightengale doesn't prey on this young soul like the others. There's something special about this young man and when he is miraculously heeled during one of Jonas' best performances, something cracks inside Jonas and it scares him enough to rethink his own faith and actions.
The movie is great in that it doesn't insult us, these miracles could have easily been a coincidence - there were earlier hints in the film which gave every indication that things were going to happen before the arrival of Nightengale but still we wonder, is it divine? Or is it coincidental? We don't know but it's definitely things like this which makes us stop and think and wonder about it all.
In my opinion, Leap of Faith is one of Steve Martin's best film performance. He did his homework very well in capturing the movements and showmanship of these faith healers. Jonas is a master at manipulation, a true con-artist and yet Martin was effective at hiding a past filled with pain just underneath the surface, long buried. We never really know much about Jonas' past. There is a scene where Jane fills Will in on his history but it's hard to tell if it's true or if in fact she's also been duped by Jonas. It seems as if his true self has been long ago buried under a wealth of lies and deceit.
Everyone was great in this film, including Debra Winger, who always has an amazing screen presence, Liam Neeson - while not an expert with the southern accent, he did well as the friendly foe who had everyone's best interest at heart. There's also very good performances by Meat Loaf and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. While I'm not a huge fan of Gospel Music, the choir in this movie is terrific.
It's the first movie to reveal the methods used by revivalist to defraud their congregations. The behind the scenes stuff is shocking. You get the feel of how much practice goes into staging these shows, the slight of hands and the Spotters that gather information from unsuspecting people in the audience by innocently striking up conversations to glean personal information which is then fed into Nightengale's earpiece.
But overall it's a fell good movie, while the ending sort of leaves things in the air, it does leave you with a tremendous feeling of hope that anything is possible.
I love the opening scene. Rustwater, a small town, tight-knit community, where everyone knows each other and there's only one main road that leads to it that exits off the freeway. You can tell it hasn't rained for a while, the sun beats down so hard on the pavement that you can see the heat rising from the concrete - it makes the arrival of the coming caravan carrying Jonas Nightengale and his entourage ominous and foreboding. Jonas Nightingale (Steven Martin) is a fraudulent traveling Christian faith healer who dupes followers out of money, with the help of his side kick, Jane (Debra Winger) and the rest of his posse. On this particular day while traveling through Rustwater, one of their vehicles break down and they are stuck there for four days waiting for repairs, so he figures they might as well make the most out of their stay.
When I first heard of this film, I thought it would be another comedic vehicle for Martin to display the funny antics he's usually known for. While Martin is hilarious as the charismatic Nightengale, it's not the broad comedy I thought it was going to be.
Martin's Nightengale is a dark character, he's a desperate, seedy, manipulative, unrepentant man without any hope. He shamelessly flaunts his true self to the local Sheriff, Will Braverman (Liam Neeson) who's already had his number the moment he laid eyes on him. Nightengale's excuse is that as long as the people are getting their money's worth of entertainment and the performance takes their mind off their current trouble - what harm is any of it? That's all it is, another form of show-business. Jonas lost is faith a long time ago, that much is evident. And if he once had it and then lost it, there is still hope of him finding it again, which makes us wonder if his being stalled in Rustwater was coincidence.
Or Is it divine intervention which leads him to the small town? Is he there to bring entertainment in the guise of "hope" to the masses who are in financial trouble? There is a drought going on and the crops are dying out - which means the locals are losing money, some are facing foreclosure. Or are the people of Rustwater there to help bring Jonas back to the faith he lost a long time ago? Well, he does his best to turn a blind eye and keep his distance - he doesn't want to care but this community does something to him, whether he likes it or not.
He takes an interest in a local woman, Marva (Lolita Davidovich) and her young brother, Boyd (Lukas Haas) who is crippled. Boyd believes that Nightengale can heal him, and Nightengale doesn't prey on this young soul like the others. There's something special about this young man and when he is miraculously heeled during one of Jonas' best performances, something cracks inside Jonas and it scares him enough to rethink his own faith and actions.
The movie is great in that it doesn't insult us, these miracles could have easily been a coincidence - there were earlier hints in the film which gave every indication that things were going to happen before the arrival of Nightengale but still we wonder, is it divine? Or is it coincidental? We don't know but it's definitely things like this which makes us stop and think and wonder about it all.
In my opinion, Leap of Faith is one of Steve Martin's best film performance. He did his homework very well in capturing the movements and showmanship of these faith healers. Jonas is a master at manipulation, a true con-artist and yet Martin was effective at hiding a past filled with pain just underneath the surface, long buried. We never really know much about Jonas' past. There is a scene where Jane fills Will in on his history but it's hard to tell if it's true or if in fact she's also been duped by Jonas. It seems as if his true self has been long ago buried under a wealth of lies and deceit.
Everyone was great in this film, including Debra Winger, who always has an amazing screen presence, Liam Neeson - while not an expert with the southern accent, he did well as the friendly foe who had everyone's best interest at heart. There's also very good performances by Meat Loaf and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. While I'm not a huge fan of Gospel Music, the choir in this movie is terrific.
It's the first movie to reveal the methods used by revivalist to defraud their congregations. The behind the scenes stuff is shocking. You get the feel of how much practice goes into staging these shows, the slight of hands and the Spotters that gather information from unsuspecting people in the audience by innocently striking up conversations to glean personal information which is then fed into Nightengale's earpiece.
But overall it's a fell good movie, while the ending sort of leaves things in the air, it does leave you with a tremendous feeling of hope that anything is possible.
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Comment by Blonde Ambition
Backlot Babble
I'm just saying...
I've never been to a revival where faith healing took place but am interested to know if the tactics presented here are actually used. In the movie Jonas Nightingale is clearly a fraud. What's amazing is how people actually find faith even through his fraudulent tactics. I think that's the most important point of the movie. Isaiah 55:11 says, ..."so is My word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."
Comment by Deni
Abstract Magick
Cinema Herald
I've never been to a revival either but when this movie came out, the revivals and televangelists were very popular and I remember many expose's on them where under-cover camera's recorded such techniques. The fact that no one came out to dispute these tactics was very telling.
I think people had faith in the message he was preaching because in such desperate times, they needed something to believe in and Jonas inadvertently set himself up in a roll he wasn't quite prepared to take on, which is why he ran. I think this movie was more about Jonas' possible redemption rather than the people of Rustwater. The movie ends open-ended - did he or didn't he change?
Cheers!
It's a great movie and still a pleasure to watch.
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Leap of faith is a fun film that doesn't mine all its ideas fully but still offers surface entertainment.
No where near on par with stuff like "Elmer Gantry" but Steve Martin delivers enough manic shtick to keep it all smiles.
Always fun seeing Phillip Seymour Hoffman in an early role.
Comment by The wonderful Peter Yang
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