Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

The irony of this well-crafted biopic of the late Rich Mullins is that the self-styled Christian singer/songwriter probably wouldn't have wanted a film made about him in the first place - such was his discomfort with fame and recognition. Nonetheless, director and fan David Leo Schultz - helped by Mullin's brother Dave - has cemented the CCM pioneer's standing as one of the true greats as well as allowing distant admirers the chance to get to know this most elusive of artists a bit better. Canadian actor Michael Koch takes the main role and plays the part with the required angst and intensity to reflect Mullins' alcohol problems, bouts of depression, record company fallouts and the fractious relationship with his callous father - things the film thankfully refuses to gloss over - whilst a strong supporting cast provide credibility throughout. All the music biopic hallmarks are here from childhood flashbacks to re-enactments of how the artist's biggest song came about (in this case "Awesome God") and such is the film's integrity that it could sit quite comfortably alongside blockbusters such as Ray and Walk The Line in terms of calibre. Whilst Mullins is played as something of a hard-to-like character, his struggle to accept that his Saviour simply loves him and his earnest attempts to build relationships are warming factors although, going by clips of between-song banter by the real Mullins as the credits roll, more could have been made of the man's obvious sense of humour. Arguably, Mullins' songs could have been given better exposure - mostly presented here as snippets of Koch noodling away on a number of wobbly old pianos - and perhaps we could have been spared the fatal car crash scene at the end. On the whole, whether he would have liked it or not, this is an excellent and worthwhile testament to the genius, flaws, struggles and legacy of a much-missed musicianary.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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