Beyond the Farthest Star 2015

      This film is based on a novel written by Brock Thoene. When a nativity scene in front of a church is burned, this event brings the national spotlight to this forgotten Texas town.  Pastor Adam Wells was once a famous preacher as a young boy but he hasn’t reached these heights as an adult.  He feels he now has an opportunity to regain his former glory.  He also has one last chance to restore his fractured family.  Adam is married to Maurene and they met in high school when they were chosen to represent a married couple in class.  They are now having problems in their marriage.  They have a teenage daughter Anne and she is into everything Goth, dark lipstick, clothing, attitude and music.  She doesn’t want to call Adam her dad and she calls him Adam instead to show her disrespect of him.  Adam may need to make a choice?  To be the father to Anne that he needs to be or regain the glory he feels he has lost?

     This a broken family that needs help to change.  Adam is struggling and Maurene is also struggling.  She doesn’t want Adam to know that she has an bottle alcohol hidden away.  She sips from the bottle when there are low points in her life.  She wants to write her own speeches when she’s called to talk to the women of the church.  She doesn’t want Adam to write them for her.  Anne is even more lost than her mother.  She is hurting deeply inside and she would like to be released from her pain but she doesn’t know how.  She hurts others first before they can hurt her.  This is her automatic defense.  There is a little bit of confusion in this film unless you follow the plot closely.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)  

 

119 min, Drama directed by Andrew Librizzi with Renee O’Connor, Todd Terry, Cherami Leigh, William McNamara, Andrew Prine, Barry Corbin, Tyler Corie, Shawn Roe, Lou Beatty Jr., Jorgan Walker Ross, Andrew Sensening, Benjamin Dane, Jodie Moore, Gail Cronauer.

Note:  Goodreads gives the book 3.84* with 365 ratings, Imdb 7.4 out of 10, Rotten Tomatoes 100% audience, The Independent Critic 3.5* out of 5* Richard Propes.

Special Note:  Filmed in Leonard and Dallas Texas.  Actress Cherami Leigh in the role of Goth teen Anne Wells has voiced over 50 Anime characters.  The filming schedule for this film had to be reworked to allow her to attend a Megacon panel including a new Anime series.  She was also a Radio Disney DJ starting at 8 years old.