Not one to visit movie theatres with regularity, I happened to be sitting in the local mega theatre to watch West Side Story with my wife. It being a fifteen-year-married date, we arrived early and were the second and third person in the theatre of this highly anticipated remake. Then, the twenty-five minutes of previews came on, and that's when I took off my glasses (what I usually do because R-rated movie producers usually only trim a trailer enough to make it less specifically offensive to me). The third trailer in this long lineup was Redeeming Love, which opened with multiple scenes suggesting prostitution and the line of a boy stating that he absolutely must meet a pretty girl prostitute, the girl being Angel. This clip is followed closely by Angel's provocative introduction in her brothel room. Here, my wife reacted out loud, "Nope, find a better one, Mister," Mister being the actor that felt compelled enough to go woo a harlot. I, on the other hand, immediately thought of Hosea and Gomer in the Bible and was intrigued. Furthering my intrigue was the mid-trailer credit. The mid-trailer screen had splashed "Based on the Best Selling Novel by Francine Rivers" across a picturesque hillside in white semi-transparent font. I had a faint recollection of Francine Rivers as an author and associated her with Christianity somehow, but then with the following smash-bang-walloping preview upon me, I returned to watching. My curiosity returned later that day, after the clinch of our date, and after looking up the details online, I discovered that my inkling was correct. Mister Michael Hosea and Angel were meant to be a modern-day recreation of the book of Hosea’s famous characters, only set in the 1800s California gold-rush era. This was much more interesting to me than a culturally-pushy musical about fringe friends of sob-story criminals inconveniently falling in love like I watched in West Side Story. Long paragraph short, I bought Francine's book and read it through and through, and it is safe to say after having done so that when figuratively comparing it to the recent West Side Story, Francine’s remake is better.
Michael Hosea, a relatable, idealistic farmer having moved from east to west coast with his brother-in-law Paul and his little sister Tessie, takes to providing vegetables and grain for the area's many gold seekers. He grows his produce out on his isolated property and transports his surplus harvest by wagon into Pair-a-Dice, the nearest town with its ironic name, to sell to Joseph, the small city merchandizer. Having escaped the influence of his slave-owning father, he has brought his Bible and his moral convictions to a place that is slowly being overrun by greed, poverty, and human depravity. This is where, while delivering his most recent crop surplus to Joseph, he sees Angel walking stoically down the street, advertising her services as the town's most highly sought-after prostitute.
Compared to Michael, Angel has a more cringeworthy past that frames her negativity and outlook, but it’s a past to which many people can sadly relate in some embarrassing shade of color. Hers is one of neglect and sexual abuse. Her father, her mother, her Uncle Rab, and Duke are the culprits of her abuse and the cause of her present circumstances that leave her with no working options but to submit to the darkening nights of the Pair-a-Dice brothel and its exploitive owner, Duchess.
Michael's determination to have this prostitute for a wife is met with predictable and sometimes comical resistance, like when Angel replies to Michael that he was only the third customer to propose...that day, but that she is flattered—sarcastically. The narrative continues in this manner, highlighting all the frailties found in the notion that a Christian marriage will erase any scarred or suffering past simply because it’s legitimate and well intended. I think this same frailty is what my wife immediately identified during the preview, being the mother of a boy that could soon face the entangling ramifications of a similar relationship.
Francine Rivers is forward when it comes to her paralleling the Bible's story, even weaving references to it into the dialogue. Yet, while knowing the book of Hosea inside and out, I was kept on the edge of my seat, fingers ready to turn the page, throughout her spiraling adventure. Michael and Angel's relationship is anything but predictable, and there are many aspects of their relationship that reflect typical marital troubles, troubles I, myself, have faced. Troubles of trying to reform your spouse, feelings of unworthiness, and experiencing neglect amongst others. The most surprising element of the story and impactful takeaway from my vantage point is from Michael realizing that he can't heal Angel's spiritual wounds, despite the amount of gold and sweat he dispenses attempting to do so. This aspect of the story and how Michael eventually proceeds is the windfall nugget that Francine has placed in her exciting Rivers-tale that I will leave for you to find.
While you go searching, here is one of my favorite musical groups, NeedToBreathe, with their song “Who Am I” that bears the same raw question as Redeeming Love.
The Movie?
As to how this novel converts to the screen play that is set to be released tomorrow, January 21st of 2022, does make me cringe a little. Mostly because to read of certain atrocities is one thing—reading is rather censorable—but to watch them is considerably less of a controllable experience that more quickly veers toward obscene. However, with Francine aiding Director D.J. Caruso as Executive Producer for the film, I'm about as confident as Michael Hosea is in marrying Angel that the moral of the film will shine like the sunrise over the hillside did when Angel saw it for the first time from Michael's arms.
Movie Update — Please check out this Plugged-In movie review by the talented writers Kennedy Unthank and Adam R. Holz before buying your movie tickets. As I suspected, it appears that the redemptive moral shines through well enough, but the sexual content is displayed to such a degree that it would be inappropriate for me to watch. So, I’ll pass. (Ironically, according to Kennedy and Adam, the obscene parts of the story that I was originally concerned about did happen off-scene.)
Keep keeping an eye out for good literature,
JH
Purchase a copy of Francine Rivers' book, Redeeming Love, from WalterBrookMultnomah.com
(this is not an affiliate link)
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