Blue Like Jazz, adapted from the book of the same name, started rolling out in theatres last weekend. It is the story of a young Bible-believing Texan, Donald Miller, who enrolls at Reed College, a campus known for its apostasy. Frustrated by the hypocrisy he perceives at home, he sets out to lose his religion amid academics and free-thinkers in the Pacific Northwest.
Congratulations are in order to (the real) Donald Miller, Steve Taylor, and Ben Pearson, for being Christians that produce something slightly more authentic than other Christian features in recent years. Tackling the subject they do, though, still feels several feet short of the goal. While conflictedness and yearning for Truth (as well as growing contempt for a powerless, form-filled religious system) is a theme in the lives of many these days, a story arc that spans only two semesters in university, and yet seems to come to a conclusion of any sort, cannot ultimately deliver. It feels like a well-written high school term paper… on a subject that requires at least a doctoral dissertation. Good effort, great intentions, but ultimately not enough time or depth to actually be realistic.
For those on the road out of religion and searching for a deeper reality, this movie probably has more to say to those just starting out. For many who are still carrying on with religion as usual, but beginning to think and question, this story may give them the encouragement and something more to chew on. However, the danger present is the too-smooth ending, which feels like the viewer is expected to happily pay the check and depart satisfied, seconds after the food has been set down in front of them. No time for paced ingestion, forget about thoughtful digestion.
Unfortunately, those who need this film the most, those who are sincerely entrenched in a religion that does not actually reflect the life of the One on whom it was based, will not find enough of a nagging, open-ended question accompanying them out of the theatre. Like the main character, they will most likely seem to settle back into their doctrine, perhaps a few seats down from where they started, rather than truly setting off on the long road of discovery.
April 21st, 2012 at 8:15 pm
I just watched the movie this afternoon. I thought there were some very positive elements to the film, but, as you, I thought things were too easily resolved.
I watched the film with my son and his girlfriend, and their reaction confirmed to me what I was thinking about the movie even before I saw it: It should resonate with those of their generation who have wrestled with hypocrisy in the church.
I think that perhaps a movie is by its nature not capable of providing much “thoughtful digestion,” but BLJ could have done a better job if it had spent less time showing the “degradation” of the campus (Did we really need all the heavy-drinking party scenes?) and dealt more thoughtfully with the issues.
I recently bought the book online and am hoping it provides more “food for thought” to digest.