Joanne and I rented “Fireproof” last weekend (along with two other movies). Mostly rented it because people in the church have started asking me “what I think.”
By 20 minutes into the movie I was prepared to just tough it out. The acting by supporting actors was grade “C”. The scene with the wrecked car on the railroad tracks had me frustrated. (Really? They wouldn’t think of just pushing it off the tracks with the fire truck? They’d decide to pick it up instead?)
But, eventually the story hooked me. Just by way of rating, I’d say it was one of the best bad movies I have ever seen.
The story about the marriage, which is the core of the film, fits quite realistically with my own experience of marriage and with what I have seen in the marriages of many others around me. The strains, the fears, the mis-steps are very believable.
There is one scene where significant explicit theology is spoken. It is a conversation between the husband and his Dad, who tells his son that he deserves to go to hell and that he can only be saved from that if he gives his life to Jesus. I find this explicit theology inadequate – even wrong. There is also a painful scene in which a very well-meaning Christian lady does the kind of intrusive interference that has inoculated so many people against Christianity.
The explicit theology offended me. But the movie is filled with implicit theology that is much more true and redeeming. The implicit theology of the story moved me and reminded me of what is glorious and good about the consequences of the faith in my life.
What is the implicit theology? Well, the story reveals that God gives us second (and third and fourth) chances; that love is stronger than fear; that faithfulness is fundamental; that doing the right thing, to paraphrase Len Sweet, has a very long fuse; that promises are meant to be kept. The story celebrates that the values of Christianity (selflessness, service, love, hope) really do redeem people and make something of them that is glorious and lovely.
The story regards a marriage, a relationship between a man and a woman, but the values celebrated in this story are the ones that hold the power to redeem any relationship, including the one between us and the God who created us.
If you are in the difficult work of a significant relationship, I recommend you see this film. It is worth the translation that may be needed to “apply it to your situation.” Just keep reminding yourself to listen less to what people are saying about Christianity, and to pay attention instead to what values (Jesus’ values) they are struggling to live out in their real lives.
I had no interest in seeing this movie at first, but I’ve become strangely curious about it. I appreciate your reflection on the explicit vs. implicit theology. In general, I find it obnoxious when movies or novels tell you exactly what they want you to get out of it–especially when it’s a problematic message. But I am still intrigued…maybe I’ll wait til it comes to the library so I don’t have to pay at all….