“Breakthrough” is a Christian drama film directed by Roxann Dawson from a screenplay by Grant Nieporte. It is based on events chronicled in a memoir entitled “The Impossible” by Joyce Smith and Ginger Kolbaba. Joyce Smith is the mother of a teen-ager who fell through a frozen lake where he was immersed for over fifteen minutes. The boy, named John Smith, made a recovery for the record books.
The cast includes Chrissy Metz, Topher Grace, Josh Lucas, and Marcel Ruiz. The performances were very engaging from everyone involved. Apparently, John Smith was adopted at a very young age.
The movie explores some interesting dynamics among the family members and classmates. Even Joyce Smith’s aggressive faith could be a little problematic at times.
Dawson does a pretty good job as a director, and there wasn’t much in the dialogue that I found to be objectionable. This film does pull on the heartstrings quite a bit. It is the latest in the growing list of Christian films that have been produced more.
This turned out to be worth the time and money. There was a bit in the film about the aftermath of John Smith’s ordeal which I appreciates. The ending soliloquy was pretty standard for this genre of film. It’s not really all that unpredictable, which is oar for the course on movies based on real events. It is quite enjoyable for the most part.
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