User reviews

I got to see an early showing of this film, and went in knowing very little about it. When a special message for my screening played, describing the process of making it and revealing that it was coming from Harbinger, a media company "created to produce high quality theatrical films that honor God," I groaned a bit internally, fearing a trite, preachy, overly earnest two hours.

The film was wonderful. Beautiful, even.

It tells the story of Samantha Crawford, a woman whose life is falling apart. Her husband has been killed in a senseless incident, and she is severely depressed. Through a seemingly random encounter with two girls, she is reunited with one of her oldest friends, Joe Bradford.

I'm not sure whether or not the character of Samantha exists, but the parts about Bradford are all based on the actual man, who was involved in the production of the film. He is a truly inspiring figure, and the representations of his compassion and love for the impoverished neighborhood he lives in do not feel at all forced.

In fact, none of the film did, except for a small scene toward the end, and each character was well-written and well-portrayed.

I definitely recommend this movie. I suppose some may find it preachy, but it is mostly an examination of love and hope, and how to continue on when they are lost. Or even better, how to regain them. 8/10

Well I decided to write my 1st review since I kinda understand why this movie critics were so mixed. Must say it was not what I expected to be but not in a bad way... I did not know if I hated or loved this movie till the end...started watching it very late at night and felt asleep, in the morning I felt I should give it try and see it till the end since I could not rate it otherwise. Well I'm glad I did. It has a deep message, emotional and beautiful picture and music. It is true that scrip could have been better and in some occasions is a little bit over dramatic but in the end it all makes sense. So... my advice, don't judge too soon ;)

I absolutely love this movie, I had no idea that this movie would move me the way that is has. The story of the two characters and how they intersect in each others lives is wonderfully played out. I agree with the other reviews that the movie didn't seem forced at all because it seems its based on fact and not fiction. I was in tears, I laughed , and cried again. This story of unconditional love and redemption is wonderful. To make it even better the basis of the movie had in it the LOVE of God, many people may not appreciate that but its a beautiful concept to be placed in such a wonderful plot. The words to use for how I feel about this movie, I find none because it was just that awesome.

I saw this movie last night. Afterwards had dinner with the producer's parents so was fun to get the back-story. I went in not expecting much since many smaller budget, independent films don't deliver. But... happy to report this was a very good film. It was well directed and acted. The writing flowed and technically sound. In other words, there was no element which distracted from being in the film and with the characters as the plot unfolded. The little boy that played the part of Macon must have a bright career ahead of him. Casting agents should give him consideration. I so agreed with the social dynamic of fatherlessness in America and how this impacts destiny. At the end of the film the audience actually applauded. I've only seen this once before in all my years of movie-viewing. By all means go and see this film. Or... put it on your list to rent when the DVD comes out. I'll be doing the same because I'll want to view it a second time and then pass along to my son and his family.

Sam Crawford (Lynn Collins) and Joe Bradford (Michael Ealy) are childhood friends who reconnects under difficult circumstances. She has lost her loving husband in a violent crime. She is suicidal and about to shoot herself when she runs to the aid of two little kids. They got run over after committing a petty crime. Sam finds that Joe is their mentor. In fact he's a mentor for many fatherless neighborhood kids even with his failing health.

This falls under the category of Christian film. The themes aren't too over the top. It's embedded into the story and is very watchable. The only problem is that there are a few too many coincidences to start this off with. Although it purports to be inspired by real life, this strikes an artificial note in the story.

Lynn Collins is very compelling as this character. She strips down to show some emotions in this role. Michael Ealy is good as the saintly Joe without being preachy. The little kids are pretty good too, especially Kwesi Boakye who plays Macon.

I went into this movie with no expectations, but loved - loved - loved it! So many great messages, ideas, concepts ... I'll be thinking about this movie for a long time forward. It's full of Biblical concepts, but doesn't feel the least bit "preachy". Honor the PG-13 rating and don't take younger kids ... although the concepts of love, acceptance, struggle, faith, hope, etc. are universal, there is some violence and some of the subjects/themes are in many ways adult (as in grown-up, not as in sexual). Again, loved the movie and want to see it again to better soak in the details ... I may have missed something due to the tears (both sad & happy ones).

This is an overview of the movie without giving away anything as some people do like to go into a movie cold. The main characters have opposite lives connected by common events. Both have their faith in God questioned at key moments in their lives. They respond asymmetrically and this leads them through different paths. While the story does focus on how God's love is unconditional, it goes past the obvious message and suggests that people make the changes in the world that they want to see. The movie will start of slow, and fast forwarding might be a nice option. As you get to the middle of the movie, there are some funny scenes, a little action and an attempt to build a complex storyline based on the interconnectedness of the main characters and the supporting cast of children.

6/10 - Definitely worth a watch, it might make you feel good - but does leave some annoying questions that go unanswered, some stereotypical characters that do exist to further the storyline, but all in all it is an enjoyable second half - wouldn't recommend for children solely because it is a complex storyline that might be a bit tough to follow.

The description of the film as "Christian-oriented" almost made me not watch this movie. I thought it might be too preachy or religious for my taste. I am glad I gave Unconditional a chance because it was an excellent film with an overall good spiritual message and a message about how important one person can be in a community and how important a community can be for one person. Nothing about the plot is too original and plot was sometimes unbelievable or just too scripted. Yet I loved it. With so many movies and documentaries focused on fighting and violence, it was refreshing to see a movie that was so positive without being too cheesy. Excellent acting by everyone but especially Lynn Collins and Michael Ealy. In the tradition of Pay It Forward.

PROS

+ Great drama, although fabricated in parts and barely a sequence of events that would happen like this.

+ Very strong case against racism.

+ Good actors who are transparently showing their character's struggles.

+ Good display of THEOS' unconditional love, when He meets the violent Joe in prison.

+ A display of violence is ok when it involves stories of redemption, but the fact that Samantha endorses the little Joe, instantly after he brutally punched his classmate, is not something we should see in a Christian movie.

+ No denomination mentioned.

NEUTRAL

o The music is sometimes a bit overwhelming. One scene where she raises her hands would be just ridiculous without music, but the music is so dramatized that even that scene has probably an impact on the viewer.

CONS

• Although the movie shows some underlying biblical concepts and has a handful of short God-talks in it, it can hardly go as Christian movie. If it would not have been promoted explicitly as Christian and had some Christian supporters shown in the epilogue, the vast majority of people would have probably not noticed that this could be a Christian movie. Even secular movies often include references to God and its truly powerful moral story could come from any other secular movie. I can also not remember any reference to JESUS CHRIST and we do therefore not even know which God is meant in this movie. Is it the Catholic, Mormon or Muslim god, or is it indeed the Christian God?

• Samantha wanted to commit suic**e, but is not even told the Gospel anywhere in that movie. She is just getting a slightly better person, who still almost gets her into prison at the end of the movie through her acting on revenge in combination with a weapon, but there is no redemption, no salvation, just a new perspective with kids and of serving those in ways that could come indeed from the Bible. It is sad when producers are more in fear of repercussions or lower sales than in a proper holy fear to actually produce some Christian content.

• The plot is all over the place, which is ok to a certain extent, but it gets at a certain point too much. Throwbacks can be a stylistic device, but should not form the main narrative on repeat.

Hollywood has got it in there heads that a movie should have sexually suggestive material, pervasive language, and blood and gore all throughout the film in order to make a good movie.

Well Unconditional proves that you don't have to have those elements in order to have a great movie. Unconditional pulls at your heart in many ways. It makes you laugh and cry several times. Michael Ealy and Lynn Collins both give great honest performances. All of the kids do too.

This is an inspiring film for all to see. Please go and watch this movie and buy it when it comes out. Show your kids these kinds of movies and let them know God loves them all the time.

Unconditional is a film about a widowed woman, Samantha Crawford, who meets and an old best friend, while also believing she's found her husband's murderer. She meets some children from the projects that will forever change her life. Sounds good right? The film is a drama that has heavy emphasis on trying to catch your emotions. It tries to achieve this by including a lot of orchestra music, to an extent where it becomes cheesy. There are also many cheesy quotes that try to capture your emotions. There isn't very much dialog. The movie also has emphasis on the use of flashbacks. Unconditional for me was hard to watch. There was way too much music being used to try and convey your emotions that it became annoying, and again, cheesy. When we watch movies, we want the music to blend well with the scenes in the movie so that it keeps us captured in the film, but in this film, the music just became distracting. The movie is based off a true story with a good message, but the issue was when trying to tell the story in this movie, it was badly executed. It was sad seeing a good story being butchered by bad acting, music, and bad execution. The movie did end pretty strong, with inspirational quotes, and a heart wrenching performance. It still had a good message and had sort of a twist at the end. Unconditional has a good plot, and if you can get past the acting and the music, you can somewhat enjoy the movie. The movie also has good child actors that make the story more heartwarming. The acting in the movie by the main characters was very cheesy. They didn't have many lines, but it felt like half the lines were meant to pull your emotions or somehow inspire, except you could tell that this is what the filmmakers were pushing for, and it was distracting. The children actors on the other hand did pretty good for their little amount of acting experience. If they weren't in there, I'd definitely give this movie a 1/10 on acting. So if you're going to watch this movie and want to enjoy it, first understand that it's based off a true story and has a good message behind it, and you'll have to get passed the overused and exaggerated orchestra music scoring, and the cheesy lines and acting. But the children in the movie keep the movie alive.

Right off the bat as soon as the movie started I had the feeling of too much drama. It introduces the characters in a very dumb fashion to which I myself was confused upon watching. The movie begins with the main character (Sam) entering an ally way and attempting to pull a gun on herself, it then quickly jumps around from her to these small children one of which doesn't stop talk the other doesn't talk at all which I understand it was setting up a plot point for later on in the movie but I didn't see it as anything but a pointless addition with the intention of making the story hard to understand anyways I'm getting off track, it then transferred to joe trying to get into his house so he could get his dialysis but that wasn't explained if it wasn't for someone telling me that I wouldn't have had a clue I just thought it was someone trying to break into a house then he fell and I was just confused. It's a very stupid way to introduce the characters anyways it jumps back to the kids running after trying to steal food and the mute one gets hit by a car Sam sees this connecting the two side plots into one they go to the hospital where Sam runs into joe who is the local caregiver of the children in his area the child who was hit is one of his so that's all three stories connected as well as joe and Sam are old friends who haven't spoke since they were young. I'd love to give positives about the movie but frankly I can't think of any the movie was just awful I couldn't keep my attention I genuinely can't stand this movie. The characters were awful I like the actor who played joe but I hate that he played this character. Film sucked I did this for a grade.

I was moved by the trailer, yet the movie really blew me away! I figured this would be an average B rated movie with a nice Christian plot to it. My kids ended up coming into the room and could not get up. This is the exposure to what is really going on in America right now with children. Fathers are SO important! Kudos to the actors and OMG to the children and even the horse. Certain scenes just had us crying. Rent this and you won't be disappointed! The other thing I liked was how a man actually found himself in prison and when he got out was actually a BETTER person and found love and happiness...WONDERFUL! thanks so much for a message of HOPE. God bless.

it is not great or extraordinary. it is only honest. basic honest. with not huge ambitions to impress but perfect seed for a lot of questions. it is a Christian film but in a delicate and special manner. it is a film about love but in a different style by common vision. it is story of a meeting. and its basis is a real fact. it is strange to write about it because it is out of definitions. or rules. for many it can be boring. for others - a life lesson. but, in fact, it is only a letter. about usual things, soft feelings, need of the other. joy and hope and truth. at first sigh, a pink movie. but it is only a seed. the viewer has each instrument to say his personal verdict. it is not a bad idea to see it. maybe, for a small isle of peace.

Hunter Mershon May 8, 2018 English 12 Mrs.Dean Period 2 Unconditional or incomplete? This was a very powerful film to show unconditional love. The setting was in a rural area of Tennessee, where main character Joe lived. Joe and his wife Denise were forced to move to a low income neighborhood in Nashville. Joe began to help unprivileged kids in his community, and started connecting to these kids, especially the fatherless ones, so much they started calling him "Papa Joe". Joe ran into his old friend from middle school, and got re-acquainted. His friend Sam's husband was shot and killed for his wallet. With no one in custody, and seeing no justice she decides she will get the justice herself. Sam lost everything, but will Joe be the savior of her soul? This film was very powerful to show that your family goes beyond blood. I liked how well all of the kids play there rolls and the movie was well constructed and followed in sequence. I also liked how they showed flash backs of middle school times between Joe and Sam. Joe cared for every kid in his neighborhood and all the kids would be able to come over and have fun gatherings at Joes house and the kids found a safe zone to go to if ever they need it. I didn't like how the movie ended. I believe that the movie should have continued and showed more of what Joes life becomes, and what Joe does. There's not much more that I didn't care for when it came down to this film. Michael Ealy was a good choice for Joe, he played him excellent, Lynn Collins also played Sam perfect. All the characters in this movie played their parts marvelously, but the way the children played their parts were great, and I wasn't expecting that. This was a fantastic film and an extremely powered film. This movie is defiantly one to watch, but don't be surprised when you want to see the film keep rolling. This is one of the movies that leave you to come to your own conclusion on what Papa Joe continued to do after the movie. Rating from 1-10: 8

I am disappointed that this movie did not see better box office ratings. It has many of the hallmarks of great movie-making.

The cinematography is terrific and a lot of thought is given to symbolism in the story.

The opening sequence is riveting; showing three lost souls each experiencing their own trials and turmoil.

A woman, whose husband was murdered, considers suicide in the alley where he was killed.

At the same time, two children are stealing from a store and must flee when spotted by security.

Finally, a man stumbles into his house in great pain.

While each character is suffering his or her trial, a storm is raging outside in the night.

Each character is on his or her own path and must face the storm in his or her own way.

Throughout the movie we learn a great deal about these characters through flashbacks as well as about the joys and hardships that bring each of the characters to where he or she is in the present. We do not know for sure what the fate of any character will be until the end of the movie.

I will warn you that the movie can be a tear jerker.

The movie has a way of capturing the subtlety of nature and its reflection of the human soul in a way that few movies can. The examples I list below are only a few of the many, brilliantly constructed scenes that appear throughout the movie.

A shadow falls on a character who is turning his or her thoughts to darkness and revenge. A ray of sunshine breaks through the clouds when a character makes a choice that is generous or brave.

A child...

...heard....

...but off camera...

...simultaneously warns his little sister and the main character NOT to make a choice.

"I wouldn't do that!" his voice calls out.

It is clear to us as viewers, that as far as the child character is concerned, he is only warning his little sister.

But the director makes it clear to us that the warning is somehow meant for BOTH characters.

And now each character must make a choice whether to pursue the action that he or she is considering pursuing.

This very brief, but powerful scene, hints at a hidden unity to the human spirit and whether each character, major or minor, heeds this warning plays a significant part in forwarding the theme of the movie which is that while we have free choice, our choices can lead to devastation, sorrow and ruin or they can lead to enlightenment, joy and success.

And with each choice that a character makes, the cinematographers alter the scenery and the lighting of the surroundings to match the path that each character takes.

I can't offer enough praise to the writers and the cinematographers of this film. They clearly worked together and communicated together from day one of this movie's production.

I never felt, when watching this, that anything was overdone. The movie had the right balance of story, theme and scenery to ensure that the viewer did not come away feeling preached at or advertised to.

I showed this movie to a group of students who have faced numerous trials of their own, whether in school or at home.

They were a bit hard to the idea of the movie at first, but after ten minutes, they were hooked and the hardness in their eyes had vanished.

This movie can speak to anyone going through a trial and I highly recommend it.

So if you come away from a movie 'inspired' and even changed. The afterglow stays with you for a long while, the core message goes deep into your soul and like an incoming tide filing all the dry gaps between the rocks, it fills areas of your soul with new hope - how do you rate that regardless of it's 'Hollywood' quality? Personally - I give it a 9 or a 10. Few movies ever affect me like this. Unconditional did. It was very uplifting and encouraging. The movie had such a redemptive streak in it. There were some great twists and unexpected outcomes in this story. It showed grace touching those whose lives had been shattered through personal tragedy - kind of like the theme in a quote from Isaiah where it says 'a bruised reed I will not break, a smoldering wick I will not snuff out'. When I first looked at the ratings they were around 5.7 and there was another movie at 6.9 I was going to see, but the 3 of us went for Unconditional. We were all blown away - so glad we chose the 5.7 and have been talking about it since.

A man is shot dead in an alley, and his wife, in despair, takes a gun the size of a small cannon to that same alley to shoot herself. But! There is a little black girl who was just hit by a car to be rescued. So picture the backstory of a Batman movie telescoped into one scene, and then inter cut scenes of a guy in hospital on a kidney dialysis machine -- that's Unconditional in a nutshell.

Truly, we live in a great age of film making. When there's a movie like this, that multiple people sign up to IMDb for just to review and give 10 stars, and that film doesn't get an Oscar nomination, what does that tell you? I mean, if a rich white lady patronizing multiple black stereotypes while at the same time finding herself and her husband's killer (her clues: he was black, had a red hoodie and a mechanic's rag -- tricky, right?), with cute kids and uncounted death, near death, and tear-jerking moments along the way doesn't catch the attention of the Academy, what does?

I highly recommend this movie. I absolutely loved it.

The story line kept me captivated the entire film. I loved the characters and the role of Papa Joe resonated with my heart.

You can't go wrong watching this movie.

There are some intense parts, but I am seriously contemplating having my 9 and 11 year old children watch this movie. There are numerous life lessons to be taught from this movie.

This movie is inspired by a true story and I love that at the end it directs you to check out their website www.unconditionalthemovie.com/act to look for ways that you can also make an impact on children in your own community.

The movie moves your heart and then gives connections on how you can help. Love it.

In this movie, a woman lost her husband from a person shooting him. Throughout the story, she meets up with a child hood friend. She is also trying to find out if one person that lives close to her friend was the person who murdered husband. In the movie, there was many things that I liked and did not like. I really enjoyed the character development. The way that it was done was quite fantastic, the way that they showed Joe made it easy to get an emotional attachment. They kids in the movie also had a huge impact on me I almost cried in like the first 10 minutes of the movie because of them. The way it started out was somewhat confusing. I also didn't like the character Sam. I thought she was too emotional. She also spent too much time trying to do the cops job, which was extremely irritating. The characterization was decent. I would have to say that my favorite character was Joe. The actor that played him was fantastic. He played his part as if he was the actual person that the story was about. Over the entire movie was all right. I would recommend it to others, but me personal I would probably watch it like two or three more time. It is not something I would go out and buy

If I'm being honest I only had to watch this movie for school and there are very few movies I have watched in school that I liked. This review is entirely because I need a grade. The only things I really liked were the settings and the acting. Many of the places the film show are accurate while being a beautiful backdrop at the same time, though this seems almost accidental considering the rest of the film. I really didn't like the movie at all for the sake of being a movie, truly poor musical taste in my opinion, the whole message of the movie was far too cheesy, real story or not. The acting was well delivered and the actors seemed to actually be the people they were playing, I have no complaints, they are one of the only good parts of the film. I mainly liked that they seemed to be real people instead of some guy reading lines. Whether or not someone can relate is truly a situational event, any old Joe can relate to a guy named Joe, any redhead can relate to the redheaded female protagonist. I liked two things in this movie, and frankly I didn't find it to be worth the five minutes I took writing this review.