(REVIEW) It’s safe to say Kingdom Story Company is the zenith when it comes to making faith-based films today. Founded by the team behind the monster indie hit “I Can Only Imagine,” the company is the modern standard-bearer for traditional faith-centered family dramas. Last year alone, it released the majority of the genre’s highest-profile outings like “Ordinary Angels,” “Unsung Hero” and the Dallas Jenkins-led smash success “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.”

Kingdom Story Company films have taken the formula of the inspirational faith-based family drama marketed toward Christian moms as their families (popularized by the Kendrick Brothers during the early 2000s and into the 2010s with films like “Fireproof” and “War Room”) and increased the quality and number of creative partners to make such projects. Part of the original vision for the company was to be a resource to other Christian filmmakers to make the best version of their stories, which they’ve done with such creators as King and Country’s Joel Smallbone (“Unsung Hero”) and Jenkins.

One of the company’s biggest creative talents is Jon Gunn. He has been responsible for a majority of the higher quality films in the genre over the past decade, both for them and on his own as a director and writer, including “The Case for Christ,” “Jesus Revolution,” “I Still Believe” and “Ordinary Angels.” For a long time, Gunn was the most reliable talent to make characters in faith-based films talk like something akin to real people rather than cartoon-like sermon prompts. 

Now Gunn and Kingdom Story Company are giving us “The Unbreakable Boy.” The film is a testimony to what Kingdom Story Company has built and the talents of everyone involved. But it’s also a reminder of how the formulas the genre is built on continue in ways — both large and small — that hold their films back.

The film follows two parents, Scott (played by Zachary Levi) and Teresa (Meghann Fahy), who get married after an unplanned pregnancy and dedicate themselves to being the best parents they can. This turns out to be harder than they thought after their first child, Austin, is both autistic and has Brittle Bones Disease. But as things continue to get more difficult, it clearer that what they saw as challenges about their son are also what make him great.

The movie’s first half is surprisingly good, with some of the most mature storytelling I’ve seen in a faith-based project. Scott and Teresa are flawed, layered people who love each other and want to make their relationship work. We watch them flirt, get mad at one other and wrestle with their problems like a real couple. When they discover Austin’s dual conditions, you feel how overwhelmed they are — and root for them to overcome these challenges. 

In many ways, the film is a beautiful celebration of marriage and parenthood. Every married couple — and particularly every parent — I’ve ever known has said they didn’t know what they were doing. But because of their commitment to each other, they push through and end up with something beautiful. 

Kingdom Story Company has gotten really good at attracting reliable actors who ground their films. And “The Unbreakable Boy” is no exception. Levi pulls off being deeply likable while bearing much of the film’s emotional weight. Fahye is believable as the family's anchor, dealing with her own insecurities. Patricia Heaton is criminally underutilized as Scott’s mom, but she strikes a perfect balance of being entertainingly cranky and undeniably wise. (Her line, “Ever thought of getting married first? Nobody does that anymore!” was delivered perfectly and made me die laughing).  

Unfortunately, the film’s best elements still chafe under faith-based genre tropes. The genre that Kingdom Story Company has conquered so successfully is built on an audience that highly prizes good messages and family friendliness. Both of these are good things. But that has often rewarded tropes that work against the genre being both truthful or beautiful. These have often become even more noticeable as the quality of the movies have otherwise improved. 

For example, faith-based films often have a well-deserved reputation for being preachy and hitting people over the head with their message. One way they often do that is with the trope of the voiceover. Faith-based films love voiceovers. In almost every faith-based film you will have a character explain the moral message or what emotions the audience is supposed to get from the scene to make sure there’s no ambiguity. 

“The Unbreakable Boy” has two voiceovers in the film: One is Austin, who gives his childlike perspective on events, and eventually we get a voiceover from Scott as well summing up his emotional journey. Sometimes, Austin’s voiceover works since he can add some humor from his childlike perspective. But most of the time, it’s distracting and feels like it’s hitting us over the head with a blunt instrument. Worse, it narrows our focus to one “point” of the scene rather than the layers that we can see if we’re allowed to look for ourselves.

Another way faith-based films can be preachy is the trope of characters giving mini-sermons throughout the movie so that the audience gets that message. “The Unbreakable Boy” avoids that for most of it. By the end of the story, it seems to give up on that, and the movie becomes a parade of sermon after sermon as Scott, who has to repent and ask forgiveness from his family, confesses to person after person, group after group, and receives mini-sermons of admonition or comfort back at him. By the end of the film, it’s honestly exhausting.

The film also leans heavily into the tiresome “foolish/sinful dad/boyfriend and wise/saintly mom/girlfriend” trope that exists in the vast majority of all Kingdom Story Company projects. It’s a trope I’ve discussed at length here and here). In almost every fight, Scott is wrong and Teresa is right (even in arguments where that judgment is highly debatable). These are, bluntly, a way to flatter an audience comprising primarily Christian moms. In nearly every circumstance of one parent exercising judgment with their kids, her instincts are better. Whenever they both admit their flaws, hers are understandable and sympathetic; his are shameful or laughable. 

Obviously, there’s nothing wrong with a story about a bad dad/husband. There are plenty of real-life stories like that. This film is based on a real family, and presumably Scott’s descent into alcoholism and need to repent and recover is all true. But the film doesn’t only treat him as in the wrong when he’s engaged in obviously toxic behaviors where he’s sliding to his rock bottom, but in pretty much every instance — even the innocuous ones. And it’s just not true that an honest picture of marriage has one party be right all the time. That makes the portrayal of marriage in the film less honest and, as a result, less beautiful. 

“The Unbreakable Boy” is a great example of how much the faith-based industry has grown — and also and how the tropes they developed to get them there still often hold them back from greatness. Fans of the genre should get everything that they want and more. Those, like me, who want more can appreciate what they got right and be encouraged that it’s getting a lot closer.

“The Unbreakable Boy” is in theaters starting Feb. 21. 

Joseph Holmes is an award-nominated filmmaker and culture critic living in New York City. He is co-host of the podcast “The Overthinkers” and its companion website theoverthinkersjournal.world, where he discusses art, culture and faith with his fellow overthinkers. His other work and contact info can be found at his website josephholmesstudios.com.