O Mistério do Penhasco

First, the "thriller" shelving is all wrong. It's only labeled such as a marketing tactic. At no point is a protagonist in danger. There is some "mystery," but that's hardly the point of the movie. It's a spiritual drama.

Had it been shelved appropriately, I wouldn't have watched it tbh. But since I did, I must admit that I did desire to see the solution. It was a let-down. Even if I was interested in a spiritual drama, I wouldn't have been pleased. The film is almost entirely exposition and artlessly done. It's obvious and it all falls flat.

I gave it a chance because it was on sale on Prime for 99 cents and because I recognized. Teri Polo from earlier work and Eric Dane from Euphoria. As skilled as they are, they couldn't save this project from poor writing and cinematography. A dollars a dollar but that 2 hours (a full 2 hour) would be nice to have back.

... boy, are you in for a treat! The story is told in a series of stilted, unnatural monologues. It plays more like one of those made-for-TV, crime reenactment shows.

If you like learning midway in that you've rented a faith-based movie ... you'll be as happy as a born-again Christian at a church-basement potluck.

Added bonus: stock-music soundtrack that doesn't quite match the various years the story references. Really groovy.

I paid seven dollars to rent this movie based solely on the IMBD reviews. My guess is the reviews were generated at the church basement potluck right after the coffee cake was served.

I think this is where I'm supposed to forgive everyone involved in this pretentious, badly acted and annoyingly pontifical movie.

I do not forgive. I mean ... seven dollars is seven dollars.

This movie was a little hard to follow. The flashbacks are too sporadic and abrupt. Joanna is reminiscent of Mother Abigail from The Stand but seems more like a Saturday Night Live spoof character than an homage. The cast are all good actors with established careers but I feel the script and direction failed them. The story is an important one to tell but the execution missed the mark for me. I watched the entirety of the film to see it through but it was a bit of a struggle to do so. It had the potential to be a blockbuster but left me with more of a dark, Hallmark movie vibe. Being that this was based on a true story, I would love to see it retold in a more cohesive manner. The styling and cinematography were well done. I will give it that. I do think it's still worth a watch because it touches on mental health struggles and understanding grief which are two topics that everyone needs to talk about more often to help with the stigmas attached to both.

I enjoyed the film - even though the subject matter is not pleasant. Great cast and performances, in my opinion. A film built on spirituality, grief, and redemption. It's a drama, not a whodunit murder mystery. If religious movies turn you off - this won't be your cup of tea.

I fully agree with the other comments here. The movie got me intrigued and I thought it was going to develop into a decent plot. It turned out however that it is more intended to spread a message of forgiveness and Christianity. The fact that it claimed to be inspired on real events made it sound even more interesting. The acting was good, but the movie itself turned out to be very disappointing, trying to convey an message which most people will strongly disagree with. If Danny Turner went to heaven, then Hell is empty.