Whilst I have been underrating the film, 'Preacher' permits a heart-breaking and vein-contracting feel enter inside you; thanks to the gritty performance of a great lead. I was partly right though. It was not surprising that the movie wasn't as inspiring as one would think; its ambitious plot was left with blanks as though a kindergarten test questionnaire. However what the movie--in my opinion--tries to do is not to be the best movie in the world, but rather effect to the audience, which it did successfully.
The burden of attempting to save an Ugandan town from rebel soldiers might be hard to take. For Sam Childers (a plausible Gerard Butler, like his usual) it is rather a choice; an ex-convict who found God in a Christian talk and went to a missionary in Northern Africa. Sam witnessed a pinch of hell in the Northern Uganda as the rebel soldiers led by Joseph Kony (who was remained unseen in the movie) tortures and maims the locales just for the fun of it. They make children grasp on a shotgun, or if not a club, and then make them kill their parents otherwise, their lives will be taken instead.
Sam Childers, finally on the right track, decides to build a Christian assembly house in their home at Pennsylvania and an orphanage in Northern Uganda. This event happens as he fetches his big bike to sold and starts a successful construction business. Soon enough, as Sam "The White Preacher" or "The Machine Gun Preacher" witnesses the heightened plight of the Africans before his eyes, he was taken over by his anger. He became obsessed with saving these Ugandans leaving his self wrecked and torn between saving everybody in Uganda and providing for his own family. Sam ultimately finds his purpose between events.
Slyly paced thus magnetizing--you'll get a hard time in shifting focus on other things besides the movie. Behind the camera, Marc Forster who also did 'Quantum of Solace' is perhaps impressive. He has this certain way of storytelling that had me glued to the story. Is it the Ugandans? Is it the preacher, himself? Or is he just technically good? Whether or not I dig approximately, I have no precise theory.
One complacent thing about 'Preacher' is that ironically in the drama genre, we fail to somehow absorb any emotional grip. It was dull in terms of Sam as a family man. I rather have seen the cause of emotional impact in the reality of the movie since it's based on a true story. If Michael Shannon (as Gerard Butler's best friend) wasn't that good, I would have felt cheated when he deceases in one sequence (SPOILER!). It was delivered in some way that I wouldn't eloquently describe. (It takes a subtle cliffhanger or so, in the end part of the movie which was rather good).
But then again I thought: This thing might not really be a movie to be judged by technicalities. The real deal in this reel is to showcase the situation of the Ugandans and to recognize the admirable acts of a white man shouldering the burden of helping our fellow people in need. 'Machine Gun Preacher' might not be as good as the 'Pianist' as a movie and 'The Descendants' as a drama but its effects were heart-breaking.
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