Meant to Be [2012] (Movie Review)

Plot Summary

After a negative turn of events in his life, Nathan Burr begins to search for meaning in life.  Recalling his younger years of living with foster parents, he decides he needs to search out his birth mother, who he has never met.  His search takes him to a mysterious hotel where he finds surprising wisdom from the hotel’s aging maid.  But he also finds more questions than answers.  Linda Dickson is a social worker who has guarded a terrible secret all her life.  That’s why she jumps at the chance to help a girl escape from a domestic violence situation.  Little does she know that her world is about to be changed forever.

 

Production Quality (2 points)

Starting off, the limited budget of Meant to Be must be accounted for.  The sets are pretty good; the video and sound quality are great.  The camera work tends to be a little too artistic at times, but it seems to work well more than not.  The biggest error here is the confusing editing.  Some scenes seem to cut too quickly and some seem to drag on too long.  This is likely due to the low amount of plot content, but it is overall produced fairly well.

Plot and Storyline Quality (2 points)

As mentioned, the plot is very limited in scope when it could have been very broad.  There are really only two and half subplots, but it didn’t have to be that way.  Some movies have little room to work, but this one had a mansion.  Though there are few characters, they seem unfinished.  The dialogue is inconsistent.  At first, this plot doesn’t seem sustainable at all.  But more than halfway through the film—if you stick it out—Bradley Dorsey introduces a huge twist that completely changes the audience’s outlook.  This is perhaps the best twist ever in the PureFlix movie.  It makes up for a lot of the movie’s errors, but it also shows just how far the movie could have gone.  Nonetheless, the twist is genius and makes it worth watching.

Acting Quality (1.5 points)

Unfortunately, the average to poor acting quality also detracts from Meant to Be’s creative premise.  Some of the actors show great potential with better coaching.  Dean Cain seemed like an unnecessary addition to the cast.  Overall, the acting has a lot of potential that was not tapped.

Conclusion

This movie had a mountain of potential—it could have been a nearly perfect film.  It does receive an x-factor point for presenting an important social issue in a very unique and creative way.  We desperately want this movie to be remade, or least the idea to be allowed to be used in a different movie, one with more and better characters, a more complex plot, and better actors.  Bradley Dorsey show great potential as a movie maker, and we anticipate his future films.  He needs a better crew to surround him and to support him in his excellent ideas.  He has a corner on the Christian psychological thriller market if he takes the chance.

 

Final Rating: 6.5 out of 10 points

4 thoughts on “Meant to Be [2012] (Movie Review)

  1. I still don’t understand the storyline. I’m a Christian and prolife. How would a non believer understand this? I didn’t get the ending. If someone would explain it to me. I felt so sorry for Nathan didnt make sense hed see her again
    Explain please. Thank you God bless

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  4. This is the best of movies and the worst of movies. The first half is almost unbearable because it is so confusing and seems to have little purpose. However if viewers stick around they will be rewarded by a creative and meaningful conclusion. The dialogue and acting seems to improve in the last act as well indicating that the creators spent more time on this part. As good as the end is, I have to wonder whether the audience will stick around that long or even be drawn into the movie at all.

    I look forward to whatever Bradley Dorsey puts out next, hopefully he will continue to improve as he gains experience. He is certainly trying to inject creativity and originality into Christian films and that should be applauded.

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