There’s a new movie out now that’s pretty close to remarkable. Run, don’t walk, to see To Save a Life. You’ll be glad you did.
Here’s what it’s about: Best friends Jake and Roger, two 11-year-old boys, are crossing a busy street when Jake is almost run over by a rogue motorist. Roger saves Jake’s life but incurs some serious injuries, including a pronounced limp he’ll never recover from. Flash forward six years or so. Roger walks into his high school, pulls out a pistol, and shoots himself. His erstwhile friend Jake is present and witnesses the suicide. At Roger’s sparsely-attended funeral, Jake meets Chris, a youth pastor who is doing the service. Chris offers Jake some words of comfort and tells him he’s available to talk if Jake wants to.
What happened to Jake and Roger’s friendship in the intervening six years? Well, Jake fell victim to the demon of popularity. In one heartbreaking scene, Jake tells Roger he’s headed to a party. Roger is enthusiastic about going along but is wounded when Jake tells him he’s not invited. After that, the boys’ friendship is essentially over. Jake becomes a basketball star and a fixture among the beautiful-and-popular set whose superficial and worldly lives are characterized by sports, dating, parties, and beer-pong. Roger’s life begins its downward spiral. The thing is, though, Jake’s life is turned topsy-turvy after the suicide. Unable to shake the feeling he was at least partly to blame for Roger’s death, Jake goes to the church where youth pastor Chris is employed. After a rather lengthy and painful process Jake accepts the Lord and is baptized in the Pacific Ocean. But that’s when his problems really begin.
To Save a Life was written by youth pastor Jim Britts of New Song Community Church in Oceanside, California, and is in more or less the same vein as Fireproof, Faith Like Potatoes, Flywheel, and similar films. Its actors are professionals, albeit mostly non-famous ones. It deals squarely with serious problems: suicide, teen pregnancy, drug use, and marital infidelity. Those are highly significant issues, of course, but at its core the picture is about being our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers. As we are reminded in James 4:17, “to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.” Many of us may have good intentions, but are we willing to take the time and summon up the courage to do the right thing? Someone’s life may be at stake.
To Save a Life is devastating in its impact. It’s not for younger children and is perhaps questionable even for younger teens. It has a positive ending, of sorts, but not the “and-they-all-lived-happily-ever-after” kind.
Film Rating: PG-13
My Rating: 3 ½ stars
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