Lifemark (2022)

September 9, 2022 (US) • Drama • 105m

Overview

David's comfortable world is turned upside down when his birth mother Melissa unexpectedly reaches out, longing to meet the eighteen year old son she's only held once.

Director

Kevin Peeples, Stephen Kendrick, Alex Kendrick

Top Billed

Raphael Ruggero

Keywords

high school christianity adoption conservative evangelical christianity religious film humanity foster care abortion abortion clinic family life christian film pro life christian faith anti abortion

Where to watch

Free / Included

Pure Flix

Great American Pure Flix Amazon Channel

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Top Billed Cast

Crew

Reviews

CinemaSerf

⭐ 5/10

July 17, 2023

It probably wouldn’t be fair to just trash this film out of hand. There will doubtless be many who find the pro-life message it emphasises life-affirming. As a piece of cinema, though, it is a shockingly simplistic and one-sided attempt to suggest to young women facing that most difficult of decisions that all in the garden is ridiculously rosy! We start with “David” (the easy on the Raphael Ruggero) whom we discover has been adopted by the Christian (that’s important) Colton family - “Jimmy” (Kirk Cameron) and “Susan” (Rebecca Rogers). They live a happy life with the young man a keen wrestler about to go on to college. Sadly, though, injury befalls him and after surgery to relieve pressure on his brain - the recovery from which would put Lazarus to shame - he has to rethink his plans. Meantime, his birth mother realises that he is now eighteen and so attempts to get in touch. The rest of this rather sentimentally cheesy drama follows a slightly nauseating path, I found, aided unhelpfully by his rather irritating mate “Nate” (Justin Sterner) who insisted on filming everything on his phone - even some of the most sensitive and personal moments as the story evolves with an almost menacing degree of indoctrinating pontification - subtle, yes - as an air raid! The acting, especially from the adults, is twee and pedestrian in the extreme with adulation and fawning galore as we plod along towards an ending that I found supremely condescending. This is at best, a mediocre television movie that should only be shown in cinemas with a warning that it completely lacks any sense of balance. The soundtrack is also banal - plinky plonky piano chords just to reinforce the gloopiness. I didn’t hate it. Cameron et al are entitled to their point of view, but if this is supposed to be in any way educational or realistic, then I’m Tom Thumb!

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Status

Released

Original Language

Budget

—

Revenue

$5,021,114

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