Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and believed. - John 20:29
The words of Jesus in the Book of John in the Bible leave no doubt: faith pleases God. But faith is difficult for many people. “I’d believe in God if I could see him,” my dad once told me. And yet to all but a select few, He remains hidden from sight.
If Colton Burpo truly experienced what he says he experienced, then he was one of the select few. According to the book detailing his story, “Heaven is for Real,” when Colton was young, he visited paradise during an operation to remove his burst appendix. He says he saw himself lying on the operating table, then he saw his mother in the waiting room crying and his father in the chapel “yelling at God,” and then Jesus took him to heaven, where he met his grandfather and unborn sister.
When Colton returned home after surgery, he began talking about what he saw as casually as if he were relating the details of a vivid dream: “Say, dad, pop was a really nice guy. I saw him in heaven.” And: “Hey, mom, did you know I had a sister?” Since Colton couldn’t have known these things, his tale of having visited Heaven seemed to hold water.
But remember: faith is difficult for many people. Even when confronted with what appears to be evidence that God and Heaven are real, they struggle to accept it. Even Colton’s dad, Todd, a pastor, found himself wrestling to believe the very thing he’d been preaching.
Colton’s story has now been turned into a movie starring Greg Kinnear as Todd and Kelly Reilly (star of the new TV show “Black Box”) as Colton’s mom. I don’t think the filmmakers could have found a better pair to play this couple. Kinnear is one of those rare actors gifted with a natural sincerity that brings life to every scene, whether he’s joking around with his family, preaching to his flock, expressing anger to God, or struggling to believe. The guy just has a set of eyes that sells his performance. Reilly is just as genuine.
As good as the grown-ups are, Connor Corum steals the show as Colton. I’d praise his performance, but he doesn’t seem to be acting. Corum barely appears to be aware of the camera, or that director Randall Wallace said, “Action.” Rather, he’s simply a boy, complete with all of the innocence and unpretentiousness of childhood. He’s also really, really funny. In a scene in a car during a family trip, Todd is leading everyone in a rendition of “This Little Light of Mine” when Colton asks, “Can we sing ‘We Will Rock You?’” They do, and Corum lets loose. I laughed louder than anyone in the theater.
Wallace directed “Heaven is for Real” with the same sincerity Kinnear invested in his performance. This is a sweet movie that isn’t afraid to peel back the emotional layers of its characters and show them as being less than perfect human beings who don’t find believing easy. I especially liked the subplot about the mother who’d lost her son, and had boiled down God to a concept meant to control people. When she first hears Colton’s story, she reacts angrily; later, she crumbles under Todd’s wise counsel.
Unfortunately, “Heaven is for Real” has nearly no dramatic tension, and not much happens after Colton opens up about his experience. People struggle to accept what he claims happened, kids in school make fun of him, and Todd fights to make a living for his family. Dad also faces the possibility of being fired, as the members of his church don’t like all of the talk about Heaven. Colton couldn’t have gone to Heaven, they say, because the afterlife is something man made up to feel better about dying. That seemed an odd thing for a bunch of church-goers to say, but never mind.
“Heaven is for Real” doesn’t have a climax, either, it simply takes Colton’s story as far as it can and then stops. Even Todd’s big sermon at the end about faith doesn’t say anything substantive. That said, I enjoyed the performances as well as learning about what Colton says he experienced. This, along with the beautifully rendered scenes of heaven, are enough for me to recommend seeing the movie.
Two-and-a-half stars out of four. Rated PG for thematic situations including medical situations.