Last week, I sat in our local AMC theater, munched on buttered popcorn and enjoyed a fountain Coca-Cola — and watched Infidel, a faith-oriented, political thriller that stars Jim Caviezel.
And today, I kick off a new series of blog posts called “Fiction Friday” with this review. Every Friday, I will review a novel or movie — in the hopes of making this blog more helpful and practical for Christian readers. And so today, we look at Infidel.
Best known for Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ (2004) and the CBS sci-fi crime drama Person of Interest (2011-2016), Infidel‘s lead, Caviezel, is convincing as a Christian blogger kidnapped and put on trial unjustly in Iran for being an American spy.
Infidel is written, directed, and produced by Cyrus Nowrasteh, known for his work with The Young Messiah (2016) and the controversial ABC miniseries The Path to 9/11 (2006). Nowrasteh previously collaborated with Caviezel in The Stoning of Soraya M. (2008).
What will be of interest to conservatives and perhaps off-putting for those on the left side of the political spectrum is that conservative filmmaker and author Dinesh D’Souza served as one of the producers for Infidel. In spite of this, there are no partisan overtones to this film – at least not that I could sense.
My interest in seeing Infidel is driven by my appreciation for lead actor Caveziel, who is devout in his faith. Caviezel famously played Jesus in The Passion of the Christ. When he played the Lord, Caviezel was the same age (33) as the estimated age of Jesus at the time of His crucifixion. His performance in The Passion is absorbing. And when you read or hear about all that went on during production, Caviezel’s dedication is practically superhuman. He suffered serious injuries, almost died on set, and was even struck by lightning!
I also enjoyed Person of Interest, although I only watched the first two seasons. It has since been removed from Netflix, and our family has canceled our Netflix subscription anyway (thanks to that provider’s inexcusable decision to broadcast Cuties — but that was addressed in a different post).
Back to Person of Interest… As I was watching Caviezel’s character endure torture and captivity in Infidel, I was half-expecting Caviezel to kick into “John Reese” mode and serve up a good old-fashioned terrorist beat-down with Harold Finch sending in Agent Shaw to help with the rescue. But…
It’s not that kind of movie.
Although it tries to be that kind of film (at least a little bit) at the end.
For those yet to see the film, here are the basics…
Doug Rawlins (Jim Caviezel) is a Christian blogger. His wife Liz (Claudia Karvan) is a State Department official – and the film hints she may have ties with the CIA. The movie begins with their attending a graduation celebration for the daughter of Doug’s friend and colleague Javid (Aly Kassem). Later, they get a call from Javid’s wife that their daughter, Meena, is missing. And then the police get involved and search Javid’s home — and discover a downstairs room that reveals Javid to be a violent Islamic extremist. This ends the friendship between Doug and Javid, and the story gets even darker considering the nature of Meena’s disappearance.
Shortly thereafter, Doug (over his wife’s objections) accepts an invite to a TV program in Cairo. He makes some controversial comments about Jesus, is accused of attempting to “proselytze Muslims,” and is soon kidnapped and taken at first to Lebabon and then to Tehran.
During his captivity, he undergoes varying episodes of torture and is ultimately put on trial for being an American spy. Meanwhile, Liz tries to use her government connections to rescue her husband but with little success. So, she heads to Iran and links up with an underground Christian network – and some additional allies – to fight for Doug’s release.
I appreciate the inroads Christians are making in today’s entertainment industry. We need more faith-based movies. And we need more quality faith-based movies. And this movie has some promise, but it doesn’t quite rise to the level of quality one would expect when watching secular action thrillers on the Big Screen (or even the small screen).
Caviezel and Karvan are outstanding in their performances, and their chemistry is pretty solid. And some of the other cast members turn in worthy performances as well. But the movie, at times, seems formulaic and forced. And, at times, even a little dull.
What may be most troubling for Christian audiences, especially parents who want to watch with their kids, is that the movie is rated R — and very much earns that R rating.
There’s strong language throughout, including uses of the “f” word and “s” word, and more. There’s a fair share of violence, and some disturbing torture sequences. This is not your stereotypical or “safe” Christian movie.
It basically develops a scary, violent R-rated scenario and tosses in some Christians to see what happens. In that sense, I must confess there is a refreshing authenticity to it. Christians are human. And they sin. And we live in the real world.
But, at the same time, Christian families (including mine) enjoy relaxing in front of quality movies with safe, clean content. If you want that, watch a movie on PureFlix. Infidel is not a good choice for “Family Movie Night,” especially if young children are involved.
The movie also doesn’t tie things up in a neat bow at the end as is typically the case with PureFlix style Christian films. For example, Doug’s wife begins the film as someone who, due to a grievous personal loss, renounced her faith – and the movie ends with her basically at the same place, at least in terms of her personal faith. This would be unthinkable in a film like Facing the Giants or Fireproof.
Anyone who appreciates lower-budget political thrillers or action movies (including those with R-rated violence and language) will probably enjoy Infidel, especially if they are open-minded about presentations of the Christian faith. For those who fit that description, this is your kind of movie. If you’re outside of that demographic, you may want to pass.
Infidel was theatrically released in the U.S. by Cloudburst Entertainment on September 18, 2020. It is rated R and still available in many theaters.
