Plot Summary
Sara, Coley, Patrice, Glen, and Gracie were close college sorority sisters, but now that they have grown into their middle ages, they have each taken different paths in life. Sara is weary of going to the annual get-together of the girls because of her newfound faith, but her pastor encourages her to go to witness to her friends. However, the weekend getaway does not turn out as plan as each woman is hiding their own secrets, which lead to intense conflicts between them. To cap things off, tragedy strikes the group of friends in a way they never expected. Will they be able to pick up the pieces and change their ways?
Production Quality (1.5 points)
Though on the surface Only God Can seems like a good production, there are a handful of hiden problems that keep it from being all that it could be. For example, the audio is strangely quiet except for the blaring and generic soundtrack. Video quality and camera work are standard caliber, but the sets, locations, and props, though they are professional-looking, are fairly limited and underused. Further, the editing is very disorienting and choppy, but this is likely primarily due to the poor plot structure. However, as a whole, this production is good enough to be average, even though it could have been more.
Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)
Only God Can follows a story-telling style similar to that of Do You Believe? as it juggles many under-developed and hard-to-fully-grasp subplots and tries to make nearly every scene a dramatic climax. The presentation of the many subplots is dizzying for this reason, and flashbacks are used very poorly. Each character is developed as a representation of an issue rather than a real person, and this is done through very forced and stilted dialogue that is designed to push a certain agenda rather than to create relatable characters. The back stories of the characters are therefore flat and empty, and scenes that could have been used to develop them better are instead used for empty and mindless montages. Sometimes it’s hard to understand what’s happening from scene to scene, but it all comes down to a predictable and forced conclusion that fixes everything. In short, this plot unfortunately had no potential from the get-go.
Acting Quality (1 point)
Unfortunately, many of the cast members in this film appear to be overly made-up and overly fake. Emotional delivery comes off as plastic and unrealistic as many cast members don’t appear comfortable with their lines or their respective roles. However, there are a handful of cast members that are okay and thus prevent this section from being null. Nevertheless, this film is overall a disappointment and doesn’t really have much to offer.
Conclusion
Overall, Only God Can is another moderately-funded, partially-marketed inspirational film from PureFlix that falls flat and doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. On the surface, it has good production qualities, but there are hidden issues that undermine this. The plot is very empty and wanting as it tries to push typical agendas, and the acting missed the mark as well. It’s very predictable and formulaic, yet this is the type of Christian film that no longer needs to be seen in the market. The reputation of Christian movies is bad enough as it is, so we don’t need anymore examples of ineptitude.
Final Rating: 2.5 out of 10 points
Box Office Revolution 