LEAP OF FAITH
A film review by Jon Webb
Copyright 1992 Jon Webb
Steve Martin plays a con man revival preacher who goes through a life-changing experience. Part of the film is a look into technically sophisticated cons -- identifying people in the audience with particular problems so the preacher can call on them as if God told him they needed his help, using wireless microphones to control the show with the aid of a computer -- and part is a story about a man's relationship with, well, God. It's an interesting film in that it doesn't back down an make acceptable to this Godless world its central dramatic moment, which hinges on the difference between real and fake miracles.
This is Steve Martin's first major non-comic role. He does fairly well, especially during the shows, when the moves he developed as part of his comic routines come in handy. But I found him less believable off-stage. He seems too young and hip to be an evangelist. I suppose this contrast is intentional, and maybe even based on studies of the private lives of evangelists. But either the writing or the acting didn't convey what it was supposed to convey, to me.
Another problem with Steve Martin's role is that it is undeveloped. He was supposed to have an affair with the Lolita Davidovich role, but that part was almost completely cut. (She is left with a few scenes, and almost a superfluous presence in the film.) So we're left with an incomplete person.
By contrast, Debra Winger's character is well-developed in much fewer scenes. The only thing left out was parts of the relationship between her and Martin's character. I found her role and acting to be completely credible.
Lukas Haas is good as the crippled brother of Davidovich, and Liam Neeson is good (though his role is depressingly familiar from other movies) as the sheriff.
The direction is great, particularly during the shows. Martin's sermons and the gospel singing move us even though we know they are a con.
I liked this film. But it's a lot more shallow presentation than its subject matter demands. A little more soul-searching by Martin's character, which might have been provided had the relationship with Davidovich been more developed, would have made it much stronger.
-- J
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