Anyone fearing that “Machine Gun Preacher” will simply be a Gerard Butler-driven shoot-’em-up is in for a very pleasant surprise. While the movie is by no means for the faint of heart, “Machine Gun Preacher” is poignant, subtle and beautifully directed by Marc Forster.
It is based on the true story of Sam Childers (Gerard Butler, who puts in possibly the best performance of his career), who, after hitting rock bottom as a drug abuser and criminal, becomes active in local church life with the help of his wife Lynn (Michelle Monaghan), as well as in Sudan, where he develops the reputation of a children’s savior. There, he befriends a local freedom fighter named Deng (Souleymane Sy Savane) and together they build an orphanage.
Sam proceeds to balance these two lives, one as a newly devout Christian, devoted family man and impromptu preacher, the other as a warrior priest who fights for African children orphaned by civil war.
But this is not strictly a feel-good movie. As Sam becomes more and more disillusioned with the lack of progress in Africa, both his family at home in Pennsylvania and his friends in Africa suffer. At home, Sam’s flawed but endearing friend Donnie (played by the brilliant Michael Shannon), tries to take care of Lynn and Sam’s daughter Paige (Ryan Campos and Madeline Carroll) in Sam’s absence, but Donnie is clearly in over his head.
It is Butler and Shannon who shine most brightly over the course of the film, with Shannon especially giving such a pained and nuanced performance that the audience at times empathizes with Donnie more than with Sam.
Indeed, the movie is full of surprises. There has not been much subtlety to go around in Butler’s previous films, but “Machine Gun Preacher” flows naturally, and though the film definitely has a philanthropic message at its heart, that message is delivered tastefully. At no point is it artificially grandiose or purposefully cinematic in scope. Instead, the cinematography is slightly raw, giving the impression of a hands-on experience instead of the majestic bird’s eye view that has plagued similar films.
The movie is also aided by Asche & Spencer’s original score, which is as ruggedly beautiful as the film’s shots of Africa.
That is not to say that “Machine Gun Preacher” is completely without flaws. The years that cover the first section of the plot blur by without much help for viewers, leaving them to attempt to discern how many years have passed since the last scene. This results in Sam’s transformation from criminal to activist feeling a bit abrupt. On the other hand, the middle of the story tends to drag at times. These slight pacing issues resolve themselves within ten minutes, however, and barely detract from the experience.
“Machine Gun Preacher,” taken in its simplest form, is a story of redemption. Sam is a morally gray protagonist and is, quite frankly, difficult to like for much of the film. However, his raw and fierce determination to make up for his past sins grants the story such power that viewers cannot help but be drawn in to the film.