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SHILOH 2: SHILOH SEASON
*** out of **** stars
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DIRECTED BY: Sandy Tung
STARRING: Zachary Browne
Michael Moriarty
Scott Wilson
Rod Steiger
WRITTEN BY: Dale Rosenbloom
RATED: PG for mild thematic elements
SCRIPTURE Colossians 3:9-10
REFERENCES: Ephesians 4:22-24
Romans 12:2
Getting lost amid all the gross-out humor, sexual innuendo, and potty-mouthed characters which fill our theaters and pass for modern day entertainment, are the wholesome, family-oriented films the likes of SHILOH 2. This is a pity. Families need and deserve films such as these to help establish the qualities of morality, integrity, honesty, kindness, and forgiveness that we'd like to think parents are teaching their children.
Based on the award winning series of books by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, SHILOH 2 continues the telling of a simple story about a boy and his dog, and the mean-spirited neighbor who threatens to come between them.
Whereas the first movie dealt with Marty's attempts to save Shiloh, a precious, floppy-eared beagle, from his abusive owner, its sequel deals with Marty's attempts to save Shiloh's former owner from himself. Judd Travers is an ill-tempered, antisocial man angered further by losing his best hunting dog to Marty. He is drinking heavily, driving erratically, and generally terrorizing the surrounding community which gives him a wide berth.
Marty begins to ask the question which becomes the dominant theme for the film: "Can a person change? If he is mean, is he mean forever?"
Writer Dale Rosenblum, who wrote the screenplay for the first SHILOH movie, and director Sandy Tung (CONFESSIONS OF A SEXIST PIG) have brought back most of the cast of the 1997 original film, including Michael Moriarty as Ray Preston, Rod Steiger as kindly Doc Wallace, and Scott Wilson as the ornery Judd Travers.
The younger cast members playing the roles of the Preston children have been replaced. Zachary Browne (TV's ER) takes over the role of Marty Preston, the 12 year old owner of the most familiar beagle since Snoopy.
Most of the acting is adequate for the story, the standout exception being Mr. Wilson's performance. His realistic portrayal of the backwoods curmudgeon gives the movie's message a depth of meaning that many other moralistic films do not achieve. Judd is not a stereotypical bad man. He is a bitter, unhappy, lonely soul who has never had a friend and has little prospect of ever making one.
Some of the dialogue admittedly contains a few "groaners." Marty, after seeing Judd shoot a squirrel, indicating his lack of respect for the hunting season, worriedly asks, "What if he makes it Shiloh season?" The movie also takes a while to get its legs under itself. But once Marty makes it his task to find out if Judd could ever stop being mean, the story finds its pace and our interest.
Shiloh is no Lassie or Rin Tin Tin. Those heroic dogs are often featured as the most intelligent character appearing on their respective screens. The dog in this film is less of a super-powered canine that saves the day and more of a catalyst for the actions of the humans with whom he lives.
Thankfully, the filmmakers also refrained from churning out an unrealistic fable where a bad man is miraculously made good overnight. Judd initially rebukes Marty's intentions, and later ignores his further attempts of friendship. It is going to take a great deal of perseverance and a gargantuan effort on Marty's part to break through Judd's crusty shell and inspire a behavioral change.
It will be hard... But it is not impossible. All of us are asked to change on a daily basis. We are to continually "put off" our "old man nature" and renew ourselves according to the standard of righteousness.
"You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; be made new in the attitude of your minds; to put on the new self." Ephesians 4:22-24a [NIV]
As Marty learns, this is not something that happens overnight. It takes a great deal of commitment, perseverance, and an unwillingness to settle for less. It requires a daily decision to change bad or spiritually unhealthy habits by adopting new and godly habits to take their place. We could all use some of Marty's driving determination at times in order to be successful. Or perhaps we just need to have a love for someone other than ourselves to motivate us to be better.
Michael Elliott August 1999 http://www.christiancritic.com
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