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"Redeeming Love" is based on a best-selling novel by Francine Rivers , set during the California Gold Rush and inspired by the Biblical story of Hosea, a prophet, who married Gomer, an unfaithful woman. Publisher’s Weekly said about the book, “Writers like Rivers are why people buy Christian fiction,” and, as with the film, for some people that will be a recommendation and for others a warning. The novel has a lot of passionate fans who will want the movie to be exactly what they imagined on the page, and that is what they will find. It is sincerely made, with exceptionally attractive actors who give heartfelt performances in some beautiful settings, in a story that fits comfortably and reassuringly into a particular spiritual world view. For those who do not share that view or the storytelling traditions of giving oral testimony about horrific challenges leading to a connection to God, the film will not be as satisfying.

The title makes it clear that there will be no ambiguity about where it is going. First there will be sin and then there will be redemption through prayer. As Shakespeare said, though, the heroine in this story is “more sinned against than sinning.” She is called Angel (the angelically lovely Abigail Cowen ) and the man who will help her find redemption is Michael Hosea ( Tom Lewis ). I already pointed out the lack of ambiguity, but just to be even clearer, in the spirit of a movie that really spells everything out, it begins with a bunch of people panning for gold in the muck, one jubilantly finding a shining nugget. 

Angel is the most sought-after prostitute in the town, so prized that there is a daily lottery to be with her. We first see her gazing dully out of the window as behind her a man puts money on the table before he leaves. One of the other young women from the brothel tells her, “You’ve got to hope for something more in this world.” Angel says she gets by because “I never look back and never look forward.” That is not exactly true as there are a bunch of flashbacks as she does look back, giving us several flashbacks to see the horrific abuse she has suffered. 

Michael is a farmer who prays for a wife. He is led to Angel. He goes to the brothel and pays for her time but just talks to her. She is so traumatized that she is incapable of responding to kindness or even simple decency. He does not give up, though he wryly admits, “The next time I pray for a woman to share my life I’m going to be much more specific.” Finally, he gets her to marry him. Though she goes with him to the farm, she tells him she will only “play along until I pay you what I owe you.” He is so gentle and respectful that she begins to trust him, and so she leaves because she cannot be the woman she thinks he deserves. There will be more abuse and more healing before, well, see the title.

The relentlessness of the litany of tragic pain and loss inflicted on Angel, including incest, suicide, theft, abortion, child molestation, abandonment, sex trafficking, arson, and much more, may come across as unsettling to those not schooled in this specific form of Christian storytelling. Those from more fundamentalist traditions will be more at home with the “ Hell House ”-style fascination with (and amplification of) the sins of the world and the eternal damnation that is the consequence. Whether innate or learned, there are narrative beats familiar from most mainstream stories that make “Redeeming Love” uncomfortably unbalanced for audiences who are from other faith traditions or secular.

Cowan and Lewis make a very appealing couple, warm and natural even with the most heavy-handed dialogue. It's impossible not to root for them, and Lewis somehow makes Michael’s near-saintly patience and gallantry seem human. But the other characters are barely sketched-in props, the storyline is wildly melodramatic, and the movie is at best casual and at worst an endorsement of lynching (guilty) people accused of crimes. The biggest problem is that the most touching moments are hammered so hard. "Redeeming Love" could have tried to reach a broader audience but settles for preaching to the choir.

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Nell Minow is the Contributing Editor at RogerEbert.com.

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Redeeming Love (2022)

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic content, sexual content, partial nudity, and strong violent content.

134 minutes

Abigail Cowen as Angel

Tom Lewis as Michael Hosea

Logan Marshall-Green as Paul

Nina Dobrev as Mae

Famke Janssen as Duchess

Eric Dane as Duke

Wu Ke-Xi as Mai Ling

• D. J. Caruso

Writer (book)

• Francine Rivers
• D.J. Caruso

Cinematographer

• Rogier Stoffers
• Brian Tyler
• Breton Vivian

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Redeeming Love

Sold into prostitution as a child, Angel knows nothing but betrayal. Can her heart ever be mended? Based upon the novel by Francine Rivers. Sold into prostitution as a child, Angel knows nothing but betrayal. Can her heart ever be mended? Based upon the novel by Francine Rivers. Sold into prostitution as a child, Angel knows nothing but betrayal. Can her heart ever be mended? Based upon the novel by Francine Rivers.

• D.J. Caruso
• Francine Rivers
• Abigail Cowen
• 243 User reviews
• 31 Critic reviews
• 32 Metascore
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• Trivia Filming wrapped in South Africa roughly 24 hours before the country closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Goofs In Duke's San Francisco brothel/casino, Scott Joplin 's "Maple Leaf Rag" is heard playing in the background. Joplin, born in 1868, didn't write the classic piano piece until the late 1890s, several decades after the California gold rush in which the movie is set.

Michael Hosea : Next time I pray to God for a woman to share my life, I'm gonna be a lot more specific.

• Connections Featured in Movie Reviews: Shut In (2022)
• Soundtracks Weeping Willow Written and Performed by Scott Joplin Courtesy of Cleopatra Records Inc. By arrangement with The Orchard

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• ladylovemidnite
• Mar 15, 2022
• How long is Redeeming Love? Powered by Alexa
• January 21, 2022 (United States)
• United States
• Official site
• Aşk Güzel Şey
• Cape Town, South Africa
• Nthibah Pictures
• Pinnacle Peak Pictures
• Mission Pictures International
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• Jan 23, 2022

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• Runtime 2 hours 14 minutes

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‘Redeeming Love’ Review: There’s Little Worth Saving in This Faith-Based Harlequin Romance

A wild-hearted sex worker is saved by the love of a good man in this drippy adaptation of Francine Rivers' 1991 bestseller, but a good script proves more elusive.

By Guy Lodge

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America’s current bracket of faith-based cinema may cover a lot of genres and tones — from conspiracy-minded political polemic to wholesome teen high jinks — but “sexy,” practically by definition, has never been part of its lexicon. Spiritual love tends to be prized above all others in the Christian film canon, which makes “ Redeeming Love ” an odd hybrid entry into its ranks. This gold rush-era period romance wears its Bible-bashing agenda comparatively lightly, as befits a wide Universal Pictures release, and squeezes in as much softly lit, heavy-breathing PG-13 action as it can on the watch of Pinnacle Peak, the evangelical studio formerly known as Pure Flix. That is, admittedly, not a whole lot: In this long, lumbering and ideologically retrograde story of an independent-minded sex worker rescued from a life of sin and abuse by a God-fearing farmer, scandal is less seen than heard about.

Thirty years ago, Francine Rivers’ novel “Redeeming Love” found an unlikely commercial sweet spot for a Christian text. Packaged as a historical romance for the general market, it sold more than 3 million copies worldwide, though its most strenuously Scripture-oriented passages were edited out by the publisher. Scripted by Rivers and director D.J. Caruso , this adaptation is likewise cautious with the fire and brimstone, though that leaves it a pretty passionless exercise on all fronts, with no real ballast to its heroine’s arduous, episodic journey. It remains to be seen whether there’s a significant mainstream audience for a Christian film that trades principally on the dewy teen appeal of its two young leads (including “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” star Abigail Cowen ) while also rolling out a bleak, old-fashioned saga of hardship, courtship and soulful redemption.

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As if to signal its goodwill toward secular viewers — if not any kind of aversion to cliché — the film opens on a quote not from the good book but from Shakespeare. “All that glitters is not gold,” we are reminded. It patly underlines the script’s scene-setting in 1850s California, where mangy-looking prospectors pan for gold in the riverbed before heading back to the rowdy streets of Pair-o-Dice, where the brothel run by imperious madam Duchess (Famke Janssen, haughtily gliding above it all) is the main game in town. Its prize attraction, meanwhile, is Angel (Cowen), a flaxen-haired veteran of the scene at barely 20 years of age, so in demand that daily lotteries are held for her services.

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The first of several ungainly flashbacks reveals that this so-called fallen woman, formerly named Sarah, never had far to fall. Born out of wedlock in New England to doting mother Mae (Nina Dobrev) and wealthy married businessman Alex (Josh Taylor), Sarah has her idyllic childhood cut short when her spiteful father cuts them off financially, plunging Mae into prostitution and consumption. Effectively orphaned — and later officially so, following a particularly unsavory encounter with her estranged dad — the young Sarah is taken on by a sequence of unsuitable guardians. First adopted by abusive Irish gangster Duke (Eric Dane), she finally heads west, and into the chilly clutches of Duchess.

It’s a tumultuous backstory, rendered in broad melodramatic strokes, and nothing in Angel/Sarah’s present-tense narrative rivals it for sheer Sturm und Drang . That rather throws this heavily padded enterprise off-balance, not least as it sprawls out to an unseemly 134 minutes. The bulk of “Redeeming Love” is centered on the protracted, on-off relationship between Angel and Michael (British rising star Tom Lewis, in his big-screen debut), a virtuous, gentlemanly farmer who is besotted with Angel after merely passing her in the street, certain that God has appointed her his bride, and him her savior. His last name is Hosea, and sure enough, the ensuing character-testing romance is awash with superficial references to the Old Testament book of the same name, minus any allegorical reflection on the relationship between God and Israel. If little else, “Redeeming Love” is a film that knows its intellectual limits.

While Michael falls in love at first sight, Angel plays a far longer game, and the together-then-apart dance between them that follows is repetitive to a near-absurd degree. (This is a film with no fewer than three separate shots of a wedding ring being left on a dresser.) Genre-hopping journeyman Caruso treats the love story with approximately the same delicacy and good taste he brought to his last outing, “xXx: The Return of Xander Cage,” all too often resorting to Hallmark sunrises or sweeping mountain vistas when the Harlequin-level human drama needs a shot of grandeur. (South Africa’s Western Cape landscape fills in handsomely for untamed California.) Cinematographer Rogier Stoffers frequently favors shallow-focus trickery that at least forces us into the characters’ space.

Yet Cowen’s headstrong screen presence and Lewis’ puppy-dog charm never combine into actual chemistry, besides which it’s hard to root for a romance built on such paternalistic, moralizing motivations — even with the Lord himself apparently playing Cupid. Does Angel need to be “redeemed” by love, or does she just need men to cut her a break? The film’s plentiful anachronisms may include a cutesy seduction montage scored to Kacey Musgraves’ “Love Is a Wild Thing,” but its gender politics, at least, are authentically immersed in the 19th century.

Reviewed online, London, Jan. 11, 2022. Running time: 134 MIN.

• Production: A Universal Pictures presentation of an Nthibah Pictures, Pinnacle Peak Pictures, Mission Pictures International production. Producers: Cindy Bond, Brittany Yost, Simon Swart, Wayne Fitzjohn, Michael Scott, David A.R. White, Vlokkie Gordon. Executive producers: Francine Rivers, Roma Downey, Geyer Kosinski, Sipho Nkosi, Mxolisi Mgojo, Humphrey Mathe, Dylan Bond, Shawn Boskie, Doug McKay, Elizabeth Travis. Co-producer: Craig Jones.
• Crew: Director: D.J. Caruso. Screenplay: Caruso, Francine Rivers, based on Rivers' novel. Camera: Rogier Stoffers. Editor: Jim Page. Music: Brian Tyler, Breton Vivian.
• With: Abigail Cowen, Tom Lewis, Logan Marshall-Green, Famke Janssen, Eric Dane, Nina Dobrev, Livi Birch, Josh Taylor, Ke-xi Wu.

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Redeeming Love Review: Choosing Love in the Face of Hardship

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Romantic period dramas will always be a staple in the movie world, and 2022 starts with an adaptation of Francine Rivers’ best-selling 1991 novel Redeeming Love . The 1850s Gold Rush in California, in the dusty deserts of the state, seems like the perfect setting to tell a story of redemption and glory. But it doesn’t unfold in the way audiences familiar with these narratives may expect. The heroine isn’t looking for gold nor a shot of fame in the Wild West. The setting is confined to the small world and bedroom she lives in the Palace. When a man spots her outside one day and decides that she’ll be the woman he marries, her entire world changes.

The novel version of Redeeming Love was well-cherished by audiences globally, selling over three million copies since published in 1991. The novel was also translated into thirty languages, thus making this one of the anticipated releases of the year for the novel's fans. Redeeming Love ’s cast features familiar faces like Abigail Cowen of The Winx Saga, The Vampire Diaries' Nina Dobrev , and Logan Marshall-Green .

Cowen is no stranger to Christian-based dramas; she previously appeared in the romantic drama I Still Believe in 2020. Dobrev, too, is quite familiar with working in historical contexts in this period. But this isn’t Keira Knightley’s Pride and Prejudice or Sofia Coppola’s The Beguiled : it’s a movie that has its roots in faith and the belief that religion has the power to completely transform one’s life, even if they are living at the bottom of society.

Redeeming Love ’s protagonist is Angel, a girl who once lived happily with her mother. She meets her father for the first time when she’s six years old, but the story of her birth isn’t a happy one. She was born out of an affair and out of wedlock. When her father visits, his cruelty, and dismissal of the relationship and Angel’s existence is only the first trigger for something much bigger. Angel’s mother and her life spirals, leading to a situation where her mother turns to prostitution to survive.

Unfortunately, she becomes ill and dies, leading Angel to renounce the Christian faith that she was raised with. After her mother’s death, Angel is sold and becomes a child prostitute, where, years later as an adult, she still is stuck in the same position she started in. There’s one mantra that gets Angel through the circumstances she’s living in. She will one day have the chance to make her own decisions, and she believes that men will only use the women they surround themselves with for their own pleasure. The film utilizes flashbacks and direct dialogue to convey the important parts of the story, particularly when it comes to Angel’s history as a prostitute.

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However, it seems as if everything considered sinful is checked off one by one in the movie. At times, it seems justified, fitting for the story at hand, but then it begins to feel as if it’s all crammed in to make a statement rather than serve a purpose. The story becomes theatrics of tragedy, something pushed past the boundaries of needing justification to occur. Angel seemingly is a doomed heroine in the viewer's eye and is someone set up to fail without an external force to intervene.

Enter: the lone cowboy and his dog. His name is Michael, and he is here to teach Angel about love and faith. Michael’s patient in his pursuit of Angel coming around to love him, as he doesn’t give up and continues to ask her to marry him. Even as she yells and hits him, he continues to be gentle and takes care of her wounds. After a shameful confession that Angel doesn’t believe in God and that Michael will only suffer in her presence, an intimate mash-up of domestic scenes ensues. The couple is seen doing chores around the farm and cooking chicken, almost lovingly looking into each other’s eyes despite what happened in the previous scene.

Romantic dramas tend to unfold in a particular way: boy meets girl, and they fall in love. Redeeming Love does not try to deny that it follows this formulaic approach. In this case, the boy, Michael, rides into town from his farm, spots Angel dressed in all black, and he immediately decides that this is the woman he’s going to marry. Naturally, this occurs after he prays for “any kind of woman.” Despite the outside world telling him to give up on her, he doesn’t, leading to an unofficial marriage that Angel only consents to mockingly.

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The story for Redeeming Love is based on the 1991 novel, which, after its first publication, contained heavy religious elements. This movie’s story is also a retelling of the Book of Hosea, so its foundations completely rely on the borrowed notion that an unfaithful relationship between a husband and a wife directly correlates with the relationship between the God of the land (originally Yahweh, the national God of Ancient Israel) and his people. Religion plays a role in the movie; Michael prays for a wife, Angel renounces religion and quite literally becomes the embodiment of a fallen angel, and Christian imagery is scattered throughout.

This notion between salvation and damnation is evident in the construct of space in the movie; Michael’s abode, a humble farmhouse away from the city, is much brighter than its counterpart. Angel’s life at the Palace is dark and dim, while the beginning of her flashbacks to childhood are bright and colorful, almost whimsical at times. The movie plays with space, adding a particular nuance that defies the expectations of the setting and constructs the story is placed within. A sense of claustrophobia exists in Angel’s world, and she isn’t capable of being liberated from her instinct of fight or flight—or, at least, until she’s able to heal her relationship with religion and become a law-abiding citizen.

Redeeming Love does try to redeem the main character and cleanse her of her past sins. Even as she shows herself unfaithful in the contest of Michael’s religious beliefs, he still refuses to give up on her. However, the movie fails to subvert the tropes of the genre. Because it follows a retelling of the Book of Hosea, the storyline doesn’t move past the concept of the original sin and that women have been blamed for the root of their suffering. Redeeming Love builds upon this narrative, thus creating something that reiterates that Angel is not to blame for her situation. It implies because she is a woman, she is placed into this unfortunate series of events.

Angel’s story relies on the tragedy of her situation, making her a flat character. Through the heavy use of exposition and flashbacks scattered throughout the film, the audience learns bits and pieces of the horrors inflicted upon her body. However, her character isn’t developed outside her salvation. Michael repeats she doesn’t need to be bound by her past, that she doesn’t need to change for him, but, at the end of the film, it concludes that she does need to change to become someone worthy of a better situation. By choosing this path, the movie turns on itself and demonstrates that it isn’t okay to live that life as a sex worker, even though many women didn’t have a choice.

By denying Angel’s past, Michael allows her to see herself as something more than a prostitute, but it also creates an unrealistic void where he can’t understand where she’s coming from in her actions and decisions. It also sets an expectation that one must alter themselves and their reality to become acceptable or deserving of love, then they must redeem themselves to have a good life. In this context , in the 1800s , it delves into the moral questions and philosophy behind sex work and whether it can be considered a real career in a world where women like Angel couldn’t get real jobs or have family support.

Redeeming Love has a cast largely fueled by newcomers driving the movie. It reminds us that historical dramas can include realistic diversity , although there are questionable decisions about the prostitutes who aren’t white and the violence inflicted upon their bodies. It attempts to humanize these women stuck in unfortunate circumstances, although it relies heavily on the genre’s tropes to tell this story. This is no Clint Eastwood Western film, nor does it try to pretend to be something grander than it is. Our cowboy merely believes in God and the faith that his wife can change her ways, allowing the happy ending everyone is wishing for.

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Movie Review – Redeeming Love (2022)

May 7, 2023 by Robert Kojder

Redeeming Love , 2022.

Directed by D.J. Caruso. Starring Abigail Cowen, Tom Lewis, Logan Marshall-Green, Eric Dane, Wu Ke-Xi, Livi Birch, Brandon Auret, Jamie Lee O’Donnell, Tanya van Graan, and Famke Janssen.

Sold into prostitution as a child, Angel knows nothing but betrayal. Can her heart ever be mended? Based upon the novel by Francine Rivers.

Who would have ever thought that D.J. Caruso (responsible for a couple of the XxX movies and some other generic action fare) would make a poor choice for a film about finding love in the aftermath of forced prostitution? In his defense, Redeeming Love is written alongside Francine Rivers (the book’s scribe), but everyone involved with this project deserves to be shamed for minimizing the damages and trauma of sexual servitude to make way for sappy, sentimental romance that’s uncomfortable, misguided, and emotionally manipulative. 

Abigail Cowen (who, between this and 2019’s I Still Believe , is becoming a go-to star for faith-based romance) plays Angel, sold into prostitution as a child and now working inside a 19th-century brothel where she is repaid with shelter, food, and of course, money, although she doesn’t have much control over spending it.

Periodically, there are also flashbacks depicting how Angel ended up in the situation and numb to life, rolling with whatever sordid activities the commoners want in exchange for their cash while drinking herself into a stupor and talking back against the duchess (Famke Janssen, in what is oddly listed as a special appearance) scolding her behavior. To Abigail Cowen’s credit, the performance somewhat works when it’s focused on her blank facial expressions, intoxicated mood swings, and all-around apathy.

Naturally, Angel remains as such even when the perfectly handsome farmer Michael (a flat Tom Lewis) notices her in town and creepily falls in love at first sight. And that’s not to knock the concept of love at first sight, but any rational and compassionate human being would probably move slower and not instantly bring up love to someone in Angel’s horrific situation (again, she has been a sex slave for the majority of her life; it’s not something she chose, so there is no sex work positivity spin on this).

It’s love bombing when someone is at their most vulnerable, which is quite morally repulsive but here it is portrayed as wholesome and cute with all of the usual savior clichés. That’s also without acknowledging that for anyone to receive pleasurable time with Angel, they have to win daily town raffles, which Michael bypasses by spending double the money, something you think other people would have tried by now. Brace yourself; the script is similarly contrived every step of the way.

The one kind thing I will say about Redeeming Love is that the script does realize Michael has to give Abigail agency and allow her to make decisions by herself. However, it also goes about this dynamic afraid to give his character any acknowledged flaws (yes, everything he is doing is for creepy reasons that don’t really build up their connection in a meaningful or believable way, but the script thinks it’s the right thing to do and puts a happy spin on it).

This is an issue throughout Redeeming Love , which packs in several subplots involving prostitution owners, the other women, Michael’s brother (at one point the story becomes The Power of the Dog for dummies, with Logan Marshall-Green turning in awful work, most notably in his big crying scene which elicited laughter more than anything), discussions of starting a family, and rediscovering faith in God, all with Angel searching for her place in the world.

On that note, I don’t expect a story that takes place in the 1800s to function progressively necessarily, but there are elements to the ending that should actively make viewers angry. Neither of these characters are seriously explored, so the sensitive material comes across as ill-advised and mishandled (not to mention the camera work takes on a male gaze lens whether Angel is making love for business or pleasure, going to hilarious extremes blocking nudity of everyone involved while trying to be explicit). Everything about Redeeming Love is wrongheaded.

Flickering Myth Rating  – Film: ★ / Movie: ★

Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check  here  for new reviews, follow my  Twitter  or  Letterboxd , or email me at [email protected]

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Adam holz, johnathan mckee, and paul asay, episode 114: redeeming love & the question of how edgy is too edgy for christian movies.

Some Christian movies are starting to push content boundaries. The Plugged In team discusses the new film Redeeming Love and its content concerns. Adam Holz then talks with Paul Asay about another new movie with questionable content—The King’s Daughter.

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Redeeming love, common sense media reviewers.

Faith-based romance lacks book's chemistry; sex, violence.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

The movie's messages include the importance of red

Supported by his faith, Michael loves Angel uncond

Most of the characters are White Americans (a few

A character orders someone to kill an unarmed man

A sex worker is known to have had sex with hundred

Language includes "son of a bitch," "whore," "bitc

Adults drink at taverns, brothels, and dinners.

Parents need to know that Redeeming Love is based on best-selling author Francine Rivers' 1991 historical Christian romance. Inspired by the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible story of the prophet Hosea and his marriage to Gomer, the story takes place in 1850 during the Gold Rush. Farmer Michael Hosea (Tom Lewis)…

Positive Messages

The movie's messages include the importance of redemption, faith, and honesty. Unwavering belief in God and unconditional love for your spouse are also major themes. Overt Christian messages through on-screen prayer.

Positive Role Models

Supported by his faith, Michael loves Angel unconditionally (and unrelentingly). No matter how many times she wrongs him or leaves him, he remains loyal and loving. He's also hard-working and disciplined. Angel has survived very difficult circumstances and grows to believe herself worthy of love. Lucky and Mai Ling are kind and look out for Angel. Paul starts off angry and mean, but like Angel, redeems himself through faith and love. Other characters are sadistic and cruel, like Duke and his goons.

Diverse Representations

Most of the characters are White Americans (a few are identifiably of Irish heritage). Chinese and Black actors play sex workers, a maid, and unnamed clients of a sex worker.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

A character orders someone to kill an unarmed man in front of a little girl, as well as to kill another woman and to burn down two establishments. A madam's hired muscle bloodily beats up a woman. A child hears her father beating her mother (off camera); the mother later sports a black eye. Angel is a sex worker who's raffled off in a daily lottery for her services. A man threatens to rape a woman. A character is hanged by a mob. Two people are killed by fire. A pedophile "owns" a young girl and displays her at a brothel. Brothel owners are abusive toward their sex workers.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

A sex worker is known to have had sex with hundreds, if not thousands, of men. She's displayed in a window, and in various scenes, nudity is partial or implied (i.e. her hair covers most of her breast, but the sides are visible, or she covers herself with shawls, robes, or blankets, but it's still clear she's topless). Several kissing scenes and at least three love scenes between Angel and Michael; shoulders and backs are visible, and some quiet moaning and heavy breathing can be heard. A sex scene takes place off camera; the participants adjust their clothes afterward.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Language includes "son of a bitch," "whore," "bitch," "damn fool," "you're a dirt farmer," "hell." One use of "My God."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Redeeming Love is based on best-selling author Francine Rivers' 1991 historical Christian romance. Inspired by the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible story of the prophet Hosea and his marriage to Gomer, the story takes place in 1850 during the Gold Rush. Farmer Michael Hosea (Tom Lewis) prays for a wife and falls for Angel ( Abigail Cowen ), the highest-earning sex worker in Pair-a-Dice, California. The movie, like the book, deals with heavy subjects including child and domestic abuse, forced prostitution and human trafficking, and more. The film has strong, clear faith-based messages and themes of compassion, empathy, and perseverance, but there's also partial nudity, kissing, and non-explicit sex scenes, as well as several sequences that take place in brothels. Violence is pervasive, too, with the threat of/references to child and adult rape, pedophilia, incest, brawls, beatings, domestic abuse, and murders, including a lynching. Adults drink, and language includes "son of a bitch," "damn," "whore," and other insults. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

• Parents say (41)
• Kids say (11)

Based on 41 parent reviews

Beautiful story but too much sex

Soft-core christian porn, what's the story.

Based on author Francine Rivers' best-selling 1991 Christian romance novel, REDEEMING LOVE takes place in the 1850 Gold Rush town of Pair-a-Dice, California, where Angel ( Abigail Cowen ) is the most sought-after sex worker in the town's classiest brothel, run by powerful madam Duchess ( Famke Janssen ). Men enter a daily lottery for the chance to pay for Angel's services. One day, a handsome, humble farmer named Michael Hosea (newcomer Tom Lewis) prays to God for a wife and then is struck instantly with the certainty that Angel will be that wife when he sees her walking around town. Michael pays for time with her, but just to talk -- and to try to convince her that she's meant to marry him. After Angel (who has a traumatic history of domestic, sexual, and emotional abuse) is bloodily beaten, she agrees to leave with Michael, but she remains uninterested in being a wife, while he remains steadfast in his faith that they're meant to be together. The movie, like the book, is inspired by the Old Testament story of the prophet Hosea and and his adulterous wife, Gomer.

Is It Any Good?

Even fans of Rivers' beloved Christian romance aren't likely to think that this uninspired, overlong adaptation does the sweeping story justice. Cowen, who's probably best known for the Netflix series Fate: The Winx Saga , tries to imbue Angel with the emotional detachment you might expect from a trauma survivor. Lewis is less convincing/successful. In only his third screen project, the classically trained British actor (reportedly a graduate of the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) doesn't seem comfortable with the role, the accent (it's one of the worst approximations of a Southern accent in recent memory), or even his co-star. Cowen's best scenes are with the other sex workers -- like Lucky ( Derry Girls star Jamie-Lee O'Donnell ), a young Irish woman who loves to drink, and Mai Ling (Ke-Xi Wu), who was sold to Duchess by her father. There's a real sense of camaraderie among the trio.

Although the movie is much more mature than the average faith-based movie (with sex work, pedophilia, domestic abuse, sex scenes, etc.), it's still as much a love story between the main character and God as it is a romance between a faithful man and a "fallen woman." And Christian viewers are likely to have a different reaction to the plot than non-Christians. To the former, Michael's actions might be easy to understand as a beautiful expression of his conviction in God's promises and the sanctity of marriage; to the latter, he might seem more like a misguided stalker (albeit one who doesn't require sex for his kindness) who all but kidnaps Angel and forces her to be his wife and farmhand. Despite the film's shortcomings, Logan Marshall-Green , Nina Dobrev , and Eric Dane are memorable in supporting roles as Michael's skeptical brother-in-law, Paul; Angel's put-upon single mother; and Angel's evil former "owner" (Dane channels his Euphoria villainy here), respectively. Ultimately, it's easier to get invested in the Job-like nature of Angel's many tribulations and Michael's enduring love on the page. On the screen, this adaptation underdelivers -- but at least a portion of the movie's proceeds go to combating human trafficking.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about Redeeming Love 's messages. What love does the title refer to? Do you need to be a Christian or know the story of Hosea to enjoy the movie? Who do you think the movie's target audience is?

What does Angel mean when she says she doesn't need or want to be owned again? How does her relationship with Michael evolve?

How do the characters demonstrate character strengths like empathy and perseverance ? Which characters do you consider role models ?

Movie Details

• In theaters : January 21, 2022
• On DVD or streaming : March 8, 2022
• Cast : Abigail Cowen , Tom Lewis , Famke Janssen
• Director : D.J. Caruso
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Universal Pictures
• Genre : Romance
• Topics : Book Characters , History
• Run time : 134 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : mature thematic content, sexual content, partial nudity, and strong violent content
• Last updated : May 17, 2024

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Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Episode 114: Redeeming Love & the Question of How Edgy Is Too Edgy for Christian Movies

Some Christian movies are starting to push content boundaries. The Plugged In team discusses the new film Redeeming Love and its content concerns. Adam Holz then talks with Paul Asay about another new movie with questionable content—The King’s Daughter. Get the book "Burning Bush 2.0: How Pop Culture Replaced the Prophet" for your donation of any amount: https://donate.focusonthefamily.com/don-plugged-in-2020-12-31?refcd=1309508 Get more episode resources: https://www.pluggedin.com/blog/the-plugged-in-show-episode-114/ If you've listened to any of our podcasts, please give us your feedback: https://focusonthefamily.com/podcastsurvey/

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Redeeming Love Reviews Are Here, See What Critics Are Saying About The Romantic Drama

What do the critics think of the book-to-film adaptation?

With Redeeming Love , director D.J. Caruso tackles the emotional romance portrayed in the 1991 Francine Rivers best-seller of the same name, bringing the book’s California Gold Rush-era tale to the big screen. The sweeping romance gives a Western-style makeover to the biblical book of Hosea, on which the story is loosely based. Critics have had a chance to review the film before it hits theaters January 21, so let’s take a look at what they thought of this romantic drama.

Redeeming Love stars Abigail Cowen as Angel, who was sold into prostitution as a child, and Tom Lewis as Michael Hosea, who falls in love at first sight with Angel as an adult, vowing to give her the life she deserves. Angel’s past continues to haunt her, however, against the backdrop of 1850s California. The film also stars Logan Marshall-Green, Famke Janssen , Nina Dobrev and Eric Dane. Let’s see what the reviews have to say. 

Starting with our own CinemaBlend review , Sarah El-Mahmoud gives Redeeming Love 1.5 stars out of 5, saying the main characters lack chemistry — through no fault of Abigail Cowen and Tom Lewis.  The film adaptation has no charm and is missing passion, leaving its characters feeling one-dimensional, despite the talented cast. 

Overall, the problem with Redeeming Love seems to be how poorly it was adapted from book to screen. Book adaptations work the best when there’s a distinct vision being created that can allow for a story to live in live-action in a different way than it breathed on the page — but that is not something that is ultimately accomplished here.

Nicole Ackman of Next Best Picture struggles to understand the movie’s genre and intended audience, as the Christian historical romance about a prostitute deals with subject matter that isn’t easy to watch. She rates it 2 out of 10.  

The film's strong Christian focus and unpleasant sordid content — including child trafficking and incest — seem like they might manage to alienate any and all potential audience members in the process.

The fact that Redeeming Love is biblically based while trying to be explicit is noted by Robert Kojder of Flickering Myth , who rates the film 1 star. He says, similarly to other critics, that the film fails to develop its lead characters. 

Neither of these characters are seriously explored, so the sensitive material comes across as ill-advised and mishandled (not to mention the camera work takes on a male gaze lens whether Angel is making love for business or pleasure, going to hilarious extremes blocking nudity of everyone involved while trying to be explicit). Everything about Redeeming Love is wrongheaded.

Joseph Aberl of Murphy’s Multiverse , however, thinks the seemingly bizarre genre-mashing makes for an unexpectedly dark spin on a classic romance.  

Redeeming Love surprised me in telling a strong yet dark story that offers a glimpse of hope through the power of unconditional love. It doesn’t fall back on classical conventions of what you expect from a romance story, and while I believe Lewis‘ Michael could’ve done with a bit more fleshing out, the tale told is carried by Cowen‘s performance as Angel.

Tessa Smith of Mama’s Geeky gives Redeeming Love 3 out of 5 stars, noting that even though the story is based on the Book of Hosea, it can still be enjoyed by non-religious viewers like herself. However, the movie overall could have used a bit more editing, Smith says, as a run time of over two hours isn’t needed to tell its story. 

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The biggest problem with Redeeming Love is that it goes on far too long. I know that it is based off of a book, so it is trying to hit all the major plot points, but the back and forth of will she or won’t she only gets annoying and redundant over time. For this movie to clock in at over two hours is completely unnecessary.

The critics seem mixed on this one, with some saying Redeeming Love gives a unique perspective on unconditional love, while others think it didn’t do enough to properly adapt the best-selling novel it’s based on. Redeeming Love hits theaters Friday, January 21. Be sure to check out our 2022 Movie Release Schedule to see what other films are coming soon. 

Heidi Venable is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend, a mom of two and a hard-core '90s kid. She started freelancing for CinemaBlend in 2020 and officially came on board in 2021. Her job entails writing news stories and TV reactions from some of her favorite prime-time shows like Grey's Anatomy and The Bachelor. She graduated from Louisiana Tech University with a degree in Journalism and worked in the newspaper industry for almost two decades in multiple roles including Sports Editor, Page Designer and Online Editor. Unprovoked, will quote Friends in any situation. Thrives on New Orleans Saints football, The West Wing and taco trucks.

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Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Redeeming Love’ On Peacock, Where A Christian Farmer Falls For a Hooker with a Heart of Gold

Where to stream:.

• Redeeming Love
• Stream It Or Skip It

Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa’ on Netflix, A Moving Portrait of the Only Woman To Summit Mount Everest 10 Times

Stream it or skip it: ‘divinity’ on shudder, a future cult classic sci-fi flick endorsed by steven soderbergh, stream it or skip it: ‘the beast’ on criterion channel, a cryptic triptych about fear and love, stream it or skip it: ‘wild wild space’ on max, a documentary deep dive into the private commodification of earth's orbit.

In  Redeeming Love , now streaming on Peacock , a mistrusting hooker with a heart of gold catches the eye of a God-loving farmer who makes it his mission to rescue her from the depressing brothel she calls home. Starring Abigail Cowen of  Chilling Adventures of Sabrina , up-and-comer Tom Lewis, and  Euphoria ‘s Eric Dane, this Christian romance tries to convince its audience of the power of prayer (and all that other good Jesus-y stuff). 

REDEEMING LOVE : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Angel (Abigail Cowen) is the highest-priced prostitute at the Pair-o-Dice; a crowd of hopeful men gather daily outside the brothel in the hopes of getting a few minutes of her time. It’s the 1850s in California and the Gold Rush is in full swing; Angel and her fellow sex workers are paid in gold dust, and it’s all over seen by the Duchess (Famke Janssen), who predictably doesn’t pay them their fair share. Angel – who we soon learn is actually named Sarah – was perhaps destined for this hard life, having watched her unmarried mother fall into the world of sex work during hard times. She’s been abused in just about every single way a person can, and it’s hardened her to the world and everyone in it. That is, until she meets Michael (Tom Lewis).

Michael, a God-fearing farmer looking for someone to spend his life with, spots Angel on a walk one day and knows immediately that she’s supposed to be his wife. Angel initially rebuffs his attempts to take her away from the Pair-o-Dice, but when he appears again after she’s been badly beaten, she accepts his offer to become his wife and leave this life behind. Michael is patient with Angel as she adjusts to this new existence and learns to trust for the first time in her life, and little by little, she opens her heart to him. When someone’s been hurt as much as Angel has, however, starting fresh isn’t as easy as it might seem.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?:  Some other soapy, faith-based romances include  I Can Only Imagine ,  I Still Believe ,  Home Sweet Home , and  Running for Grace , though  Redeeming Love  is just a liiiittle sexier than these titles.

Performance Worth Watching: In a movie full of over-actors and forgettable faces, Abigail Cowen is a dream as Angel, living up to her character’s heavenly name. She’s only starred in a handful of projects, including  I Still Believe ,  Stranger Things , and  Chilling Adventures of Sabrina , but her performance in  Redeeming Love  makes a very convincing case for her to become a massive star. She’s got the kind of face that translates to both period dramas and contemporary stories, and she’s relentlessly charming (even when she’s rejecting the guy we know she’s going to end up with). Cowen is simply lovely.

Memorable Dialogue: Angel’s line about how she “never looks back” and “never looks forward” made me laugh, because there are so many flashbacks in this movie – and so many moments where she relives her trauma – that the line makes no sense whatsoever.

Sex and Skin: There are many implied sexual encounters and a few more romantic sex scenes on-screen, though they’re all pretty tastefully shot.

Our Take:  Clocking in at a painful 2 hours and 14 minutes, there is very little that is redeeming about Redeeming Love . We watch our leading lady endure just about every abuse there is at the hands of multiple men; from her cruel father and the devilish Irish duke (Eric Dane), who buys her as a child and pimps her out, the gal can’t catch a break. She’s sexually abused as a child, endures forced abortion and sterilization, is drowned, beaten, and smacked. It’s hard to watch, especially given that her eventual rescue and redemption also come from men – Michael and the man upstairs. (Yeah, God). And even her relationship with Michael feels a little gross, since she has no choice in the matter when he pays to come see her during their first few encounters.

The script takes its sweet time walking us through Angel’s trauma, too, even after we’ve pretty much gotten the picture. It’s rough. And it often equates her “sinning” with the way she’s coped with all this unspeakable trauma, a move that feels unfair and frankly icky. Abigail Cowen handles it beautifully, however, charming us even as the story drags on and on. She’s a star, and to Redeeming Love ‘s credit, the film seems to understand this, too; Cowen is bathed in dreamy golden light and given all the screen time she deserves (even if the movie itself can’t live up to her talent).

Redeeming Love  is obviously a biblical retelling, but it feels a little like Christian softcore porn, getting a little sexier than we’re used to seeing in the faith-based romance genre. There’s something hilarious about this weirdly kinky story being wrapped up in a God-fearing redemption tale; are we supposed to give all the sinful stuff a pass because we know the Lord is going to forgive it all in the end? How does this sexy stuff fit into the soapy state of it all? Redeeming Love wants to be both a moving drama and a Hallmark love story, but it’s never quite able to strike the balance that would allow this to work. It’s also perhaps one of the most unsubtle stories ever told; from the opening sequence that sees grubby men sift through mud in the hopes of finding gold to Angel being named, well, Angel ,  Redeeming Love  has no interest whatsoever in acting like its audience might have a shred of intelligence (or self-respect).

Our Call:  SKIP IT.  Redeeming Love  fails as both a compelling romance and an effective drama, failing to do its dazzling leading lady – or anyone else – justice whatsoever.

Will you stream or skip the Christian romance #RedeemingLove on @peacockTV ? #SIOSI — Decider (@decider) March 11, 2022

Jade Budowski is a freelance writer with a knack for ruining punchlines, hogging the mic at karaoke, and thirst-tweeting. Follow her on Twitter: @jadebudowski .

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Redeeming Love Reviews

The leads are earnest, but lack chemistry, while the script rams its points home like a piledriver.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Sep 29, 2022

This movie thinly scatters a parable’s worth of plot across 134 minutes and resembles HBO’s Deadwood recut for Sunday-school purposes: pious, puzzling and punitive, with a sternly wagging finger never far from entering the frame.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Sep 12, 2022

Redeeming Love fails as both a compelling romance and an effective drama, failing to do its dazzling leading lady -- or anyone else -- justice whatsoever.

Full Review | Mar 11, 2022

Redeeming Love left me conflicted. On the one hand, the film feels like a step forward for faith-based entertainment reaching a mainstream audience. On the other hand, Redeeming Love still has some problems.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Feb 15, 2022

Caruso knows he can spend plenty of time in the whorehouse, because his movie will end on the side of the angels.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Feb 13, 2022

Redeeming Love is a tacky soap opera masquerading as a faith-based movie. The movie's sexist and awfully preachy message is that an abused woman can overcome child rape, forced prostitution, and incest if a religious man falls in love with her.

Full Review | Feb 13, 2022

A faithful adaptation of Francine Rivers' highly popular novel, "Redeeming Love" sells a message of love and forgiveness.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Feb 4, 2022

A truly godawful work that tries to combine a sordid soap opera centered around numerous acts of physical, emotional and sexual abuse visited upon a young woman in Gold Rush-era California and a weird slab of Godsploitation.

Full Review | Jan 26, 2022

I get that the story is meant to be a retelling of the book of Hosea, but the romantic packaging just doesn't work.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/10 | Jan 26, 2022

Redeeming Love feels very beholden to traditional viewpoints that we cannot get away from fast enough.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/5 | Jan 25, 2022

It conflates sinning with reaction to untreated trauma, and I don't think that's fair... I don't think it sends a good message.

Full Review | Original Score: 0.5/4 | Jan 22, 2022

Redeeming Love could have tried to reach a broader audience but settles for preaching to the choir.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Jan 21, 2022

An evocative visual re-creation of Gold Rush-era California provides window dressing for an otherwise predictable and melodramatic faith-based romance.

Full Review | Jan 21, 2022

Even fans of Rivers' beloved Christian romance aren't likely to think that this uninspired, overlong adaptation does the sweeping story justice.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jan 20, 2022

"Love" might be best embraced by the faithful, but it is well made and has much to say about the healing power of love and how we all deserve second chances.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jan 20, 2022

Redeeming Love is like the most expensive community theatre production you've ever seen. The acting is just not there.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/5 | Jan 20, 2022

Redeeming Love struggles to make [the] romance ... convincing in any way.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Jan 20, 2022

It's dismissive attitude towards the sexual trauma of young children and the exploitative nature around prostitution to help further a Hallmarky love story make a poor case for any type of salvation or, better yet, redemption.

Full Review | Original Score: C | Jan 19, 2022

If you ever wondered what Gone with the Wind might look like in the hands of the director of a Vin Diesel action sequel...

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/10 | Jan 19, 2022

It's so hard to shake the lingering icky feelings about this text, which plays like "tradwife" fan fiction, the 19th-century setting protecting the story from the pesky "women's lib" movement, which would suggest that Angel have her own autonomy.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Jan 19, 2022

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4 Things to Know about Redeeming Love , the Movie Based on Francine Rivers' Popular Novel

• Michael Foust Crosswalk Headlines Contributor
• Updated Jan 28, 2022

Michael Hosea is a 26-year-old hard-working man who owns a picturesque farm near a small wooden cottage in 1850s California.

He's also lonely and single – and he prays often that God will bring him a wife.

Michael's prayers seem to come true one day when he spots a woman walking slowly through the town of Paradise. She's the most beautiful woman he's ever seen.

"Who is she?" Michael asks a townsperson. "I have to meet her."

"You'll have to get in line," the townspersons says.

"She's a prostitute?" Michael asks.

The shocking news, though, doesn't deter Michael, who believes God has revealed his future wife to him. Her name is Angel, and nothing – not even a life of sexual slavery – will stop him from loving her.

Michael pays the required brothel fee to meet her, but he makes it clear he doesn't want sex. He wants to rescue her – and to marry her.

Angel, though, wants nothing to do with Michael.

"You just wasted your time," she says.

What will Michael do now?

The new movie Redeeming Love (PG-13) tells the remarkable story of Michael's incredible pursuit of Angel, who repeatedly rejects the idea of a better life.

Here are four things you should know:

Photo courtesy: ©Pinnacle Peak, used with permission.

1. It's Based on a Best-Seller … and Inspired by Scripture

You likely already know that Redeeming Love is based on a best-selling novel by Francine Rivers that itself was inspired by the biblical book of Hosea. The novel, first released in 1991, has sold more than 3 million copies and been published in 30-plus languages.

Like the movie, the novel is set during the 1850s California Gold Rush.

Rivers told Crosswalk she got the idea for Redeeming Love  during a Bible study. Previously, Rivers wrote secular romance books.

"When we came to Hosea, it just broke me apart. It really got through to me. ... I just felt like God was saying, 'This is the story I want you to write.'"

Rivers said it was as if God was saying to her, "You thought that was love – the steamy historical, romance-type love. But this is the real thing."

"And literally that year, I felt like He was sitting in the room with me and telling me Angel's story," Rivers told Crosswalk.

Rivers often drew inspiration from a tragic photograph of a young girl she found in a magazine. The girl, about 10 years old, had been sexually exploited and had what Rivers calls "dead eyes." The photograph hung on a bulletin board facing her desk.

"Nothing that's happened to her … can change how much God loves her, and wants her to be his own," Rivers said.

The story of Michael and Angel, Rivers said, shows people the "difference between what the world says love is what real love looks like."

2. It's Allegorical … and Powerful

On the surface, Redeeming Love is a story about tragedy, self-worth, and the love of a man named Michael Hosea. Allegorically, though, the movie's message soars. That's because it's a story about all of us and our depravity, hopelessness, and continual desire to return to the sin that doomed us. More significantly, it's a story about an infinitely loving God who pursues us, repeatedly, in spite of what we deserve. It's a mind-blowing love that defies human logic.

Each time Angel runs away and returns to her old ways, you scream in your mind to Michael: "She's not worth it!" But then you remember: Angel's story is our story.

In the film's opening scene, Michael visits Angel in the brothel, fully clothed and ready to deliver a simple message: He's not interested in sex. "I'm gonna marry you. … Let me rescue you from this place." She kicks him out of the room, but begrudgingly agrees to his proposal after a cruel man beats her to the point of death. She and Michael live together in a scenic farm cottage 19 miles from town, yet the tug of her former life – incredibly – leads her to run away.

After she returns once again, Michael takes her outside, where they sit together and watch an early morning sunrise.

"That's the life I want to offer you, Angel," he says. "Warmth and color. Beauty and light."

He wins her over – for a few days. Before long, she's ready to trade a life of peace and joy for her old life of pain and sorrow.

"You're not that person anymore," Michael tells her.

"I'll always be that person," she says, echoing Satan's words to us each day.

Thankfully, that's not the end of the story.

3. It's Excellent

Tom Lewis ( Gentleman Jack, A Discovery of Witches ) and Abigail Cowen ( Stranger Things, I Still Believe ) are outstanding in the lead roles, displaying great on-screen chemistry whether they're bickering or reconciling.

Although the book opens with a scene of Angel as a young child, the movie wisely opens with a scene of her as an adult, looking out of the window of her second-floor room. From there, we learn of her tragic background through flashbacks. (She was born out of wedlock – "she should never have existed," someone says – and was sold into prostitution after her mother, also a prostitute, died.)

The brothel scenes (more on that below) are only half the movie. By the film's halfway point, she and Michael are married and living on the farm, although they're sleeping in separate beds due to Michael's desire for her to fall in love with him. ("We're not ready," he says.) Soon, though, she's running back to the brothel, again and again.

Even though you know how the movie will end, you're nevertheless drawn into the story – mostly because of the friction between Michael's unexplainable love and Angel's (repeated) foolish actions.

It was directed by D.J. Caruso ( xXx: Return of Xander Cage, I Am Number Four ) and produced by several faith -based filmmakers, including Roma Downey, Cindy Bond, David A.R. White and Britany Yost.

4. It Pushes the Envelope

Let's state the obvious: Due to the subject matter, it was never going to be possible to turn Francine River's novel into a family-friendly movie. With that out of the way, the question becomes: How do you tell the story without going too far ?

Thankfully, the film contains no full nudity. It's rated PG-13 for "mature thematic content, sexual content, partial nudity, and strong violent content."

Largely, the sexual content is off-screen and implied.

Still, it can be titillating. In one scene, Michael is fully clothed when he visits her, but she is nude, with her hair covering her breasts. The film includes two other similar scenes, including one in a river and another in a brothel.

The movie's lone bedroom scene pushes the envelope. It takes place after Michael and Angel are married. They kiss and begin undressing. They embrace. Their hips thrust. They breathe heavily. They fall to the bed, with his hand covering her breast. Lasting about two minutes, it's not a short scene, either, even if everything stays covered. A movie whose core message isn't about sex suddenly becomes – although briefly – about sex. No doubt, it's depicting a sexual relationship within the biblical bonds of marriage , but God didn't intend such encounters to be recorded and broadcast to the world. Even if it's somewhat tame from a Hollywood perspective, it's still provocative.

No, the movie is not rated R, but several scenes should have been left on the cutting-room floor.

The film includes some language (details below) and a moderate amount of violence. (A man tries to drown Angel, and a woman then slaps her. We see a man choke another man to death, another man commits suicide and another is hung from a noose. We also hear discussion of a forced abortion.)

Redeeming Love isn't for kids. But for moviegoers who aren't troubled by its rough content, it's powerful. I shed a few tears at the end. Perhaps you will, too.

Redeeming Love is Rated PG-13 for mature thematic content, sexual content, partial nudity, and strong violent content . Language details: SOB (1), b--ch (1), a-- (1), h-ll (2), d--n (1), misuse of “God” (1).

Entertainment rating:  4 out of 5 stars

Family-friendly rating:  2 out of 5 stars

Photo courtesy, ©Pinnacle Peak, used with permission.

Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.

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Redeeming Love

I just finished watching Redeeming Love. Wow, this movie was so much better than I expected! Although I admit my expectations were somewhat low. There were a few questionable performances by minor characters, but the story and acting of the leads was outstanding. Just a beautiful movie! Has anyone else watched it? If so, what did you think?

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Francine Rivers, Redeeming Love Movie Review

I always love when books get made into movies and now the bestselling book by Francine River’s, Redeeming Love is coming to the big screen.

On January 21st grab your friends and head to the movies. And walk away impacted by the perfect, relentless love of the Father.

Redeeming Love is a life-changing story of the power of unconditional and all-consuming love.

About Redeeming Love Movie

What's in This Post

Redeeming Love is a powerful story of relentless love and perseverance as a young couple’s relationship clashes with the harsh realities of the California Gold Rush of 1850.

Angel expects only pain from those around her. Sold into prostitution as a child, Angel sur- vives with hatred towards herself and the men that use her. She meets Michael Hosea, a farmer who believes God wants Angel to be his wife. Dire circumstances force Angel to ac- cept his proposal, but when Michael defies her bitter expectations, her wounded heart be- gins to mend. As Angel encounters a love unlike anything she ever experienced, feelings of unworthiness and shame cause her to run from a life she doesn’t think she deserves. As Michael sets out to find her, Angel discovers there is no brokenness that love can’t heal.

Redeeming Love Movie Review

When I first heard about the Redeeming Love movie, I had no idea it was originally a book. I have never read the book, so I won’t be able to tell you in this review how the two differ, but I can tell you everything you might want to know before you do watch the movie and honest thoughts of the movie.

Before watching Redeeming Love, I was under the impression that it was a Christian novel that parallels with the story of Hosea in the Bible. And, while it does, there was a few things about this movie that I wasn’t too excited to find out it has like; partial-nudity, sex, foul language, and violence. Though the movie is rated PG-13, it isn’t a movie that I would recommend for kids or teenagers at all . It’s NOT a family-friendly movie nor what I would call a Christian movie . 

In fact, I was so turned off by the amount of sex in this movie, that I had thought about turning the movie off more than once but I stuck with it.  

Though this movie did have all the things I just talked about, it still was a powerful movie with a beautiful message. In fact, once Michael and I finished the movie, we had a beautiful conversation about the unfailing love our God has for us.

While I will be honest, Redeeming Love wasn’t my favorite movie it still was one that I think has a great message that we need to hear. 

Get your tickets to see Redeeming Love starting January 21st HERE .

Watch the official trailer for Redeeming Love here .

Many thanks to Universal for providing a sample of the product for this review. Opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation.

Last Updated on 2 years by Crystal Carder

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Redeeming Love Movie Review: A Drama With Just A Touch Of Faith

Redeeming Love is a romantic drama that is all about redemption and forgiveness. While it is based off of a popular religious book, it is only sprinkled with faith.

Redeeming Love is a romantic drama that discusses unconditional love and forgiveness. While it is based on a religious book, and is certainly a movie of faith, it doesn’t push it too far to the point that those who are not religious can’t enjoy it. Some moments can get a bit risky and graphic, as well. The overall lesson here is that anyone can be forgiven — not just by God but by those they love and who love them. 

This movie follows Angel (Abigail Cowen), a young prostitute, and Michael (Tom Lewis), the young man who wants more than anything to take her away from it all and give her the life he thinks she deserves. Along the way there is a lot of hardship, as well as Angel’s struggle with her feelings for herself. She doesn’t think she deserves happiness or love, and Michael is willing to do anything to prove to her that she is worthy of it.

Related: The Power of the Dog Review: An Intense & Thrilling Western

As someone who is not religious at all, part of me was dreading this movie. All too often movies of faith try to shove religion down your throat, but that is not the case with Redeeming Love. Of course there are aspects of faith here, and a lot of talk about God and His forgiveness, however it is sprinkled throughout the film as to not be overbearing. 

This is something I appreciated, and I know that it helped to make this movie more enjoyable for me. Those who are faith driven however, are likely to get just what they want from this movie. I have not read the book so I cannot compare it to that, but taking the length into consideration, I imagine they stayed close to the story.

Considering this is a movie about God’s unconditional love and forgiveness, they do push the boundaries. Some of the scenes are far too much for a tween/teen audience — especially those that take place in the brothel. Redeeming Love is more for adult entertainment because of this. 

While in the brother Angel not only has to do what she is there for, she often gets abused and beaten. Many of these scenes are so graphic that they are hard to watch. They feel just a bit too real, which speaks to how believable the film is. 

The biggest problem with Redeeming Love is that it goes on far too long. I know that it is based off of a book, so it is trying to hit all the major plot points, but the back and forth of will she or won’t she only gets annoying and redundant over time. For this movie to clock in at over two hours is completely unnecessary.

There is certainly a way that this could have been edited down, which would in turn allow for smoother pacing. It seems to be on trend now to have a movie last over two hours, and very rarely is this needed to tell the complete story. 

Overall, Redeeming Love is an interesting love story. More than likely viewers will be rooting for Angel, even though she has a shady past. After all, we learn that it isn’t her fault she ended up where she did. While this movie is far too long, and certainly has some pacing issues in the middle, it does have some important lessons to share with the world.

Cowen and Lewis have great chemistry together, and their relationship seems to grow in a real and believable way. They both help Redeeming Love to be a better movie, however it is Cowen that truly shines and steals the show every time she is on screen.

Redeeming Love is full of drama and romance, and just a touch of faith to allow both religious and non-religious viewers to enjoy it.

Rating: 3 out of 5

About Redeeming Love

REDEEMING LOVE is a powerful and timeless love story that takes place against the backdrop of the California Gold Rush of 1850. The story centers on Angel (Abigail Cowen), who was sold into prostitution as a child. She has survived through hatred and self-loathing, until she meets Michael Hosea (Tom Lewis) and discovers there is no brokenness that love can’t heal.

The story reflects the redemptive power of unconditional and sacrificial love with characters and circumstances relevant to the contemporary world.

Watch Redeeming Love exclusively in theaters beginning January 21.

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Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. She is also a Freelance Writer. Tessa has been in the Entertainment writing business for ten years and is a member of several Critics Associations including the Critics Choice Association and the Greater Western New York Film Critics Association.

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The Redemption of Redeeming Love: A Movie Review and Marketplace History

And let me tell you, the reviews do not disappoint.

Christian romance novels have always baffled critics. With kitschy plots, overly intense themes, overly beautiful characters, and happy endings, Christian romance novels have been relegated to the sidelines of intellectual thought. But without fail, every time a new film adaptation is released, reviewers are once again shocked with the popularity of Christian fiction romance. The 2022 release of Redeeming Love, adapted from Francine River’s novel of the same name, is no exception. With incredibly high audience success (95% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes with 500+ reviews) and incredibly low critic response, (12% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomato), there is a clear disparity in consumer and critic perception of the film.

Honestly, if you are having a bad day, read through reviews of Redeeming Love. Here are a few personal favorites:

• Redeeming Love is like the most expensive community theatre production you’ve ever seen. The acting is just not there…” “A Hallmark movie with a major dose of God thrown in, I’m sure there’s an audience out there for Redeeming Love . After all, 3 million people who bought the book can’t be wrong (they can, it’s trash). Think Little House on the Prairie on Cialis. If you think this film is right for you, ask your preacher if your heart is healthy enough for sex because, madame, this movie might make your blood pressure rise. Side effects may include headache, upset stomach, and the vapors.” ( Austin Chronicle )
• The critics are reacting to a story they don’t understand. So, let them rant and rave. Just pay them no heed. I am one such fan. A friend in college recommended the book to me, and I was instantly hooked. That book turned my world-weary icy aura into an emotional blubbering mess. Any story that can do that has my full attention. That was sixteen years ago, and it is still so ingrained in my heart that I was able to recognize the story in an instant when the trailer first dropped. ( Hollywood Jesus )
• If you or a loved one live in one of those parts of the US where the wind chills are presently subzero — or even where COVID-19 cases are surging — and you ventured out to see the dismal Redeeming Love, you should be entitled to compensation. Or at least a free ticket voucher for your next, hopefully, more enjoyable outing ( Influx Magazine )
• Given the choice between watching pigs eat my legs and watching this movie again, I’ll pour barbecue sauce on my shoes myself ( Parent Previews )
• Redeeming Love captures the beautiful story of what unconditional love truly looks like, especially when our sins may be too difficult for us to bear . Unfortunately, this poignant portrait of unconditional love also strays repeatedly into such provocative images that it might cause some who wrestle with pornography or sexual sin to stumble themselves. ( Plugged In )
• …both Christians and non-Christians alike will flock to the theaters to see Redeeming Love … It will sell out in the theaters and top the box office charts … It will win awards and become a classic favorite. ( Sharon Wilharm )

With reviews ranging from an immediate classic and must-see movie to a community theatre production whose viewers are entitled to compensation, Redeeming Love has baffled reviewers. Confusion does not fall on the gender line, or even in the separation between sacred and secular.

Rather, the clearest separation between positive and negative responses to the movie lies in the insider understanding of the novel and its audience.  Which raises the questions, who is the intended audience, and what are the themes that baffle critics?

History of the Christian Romance Marketplace

While Christian fiction romance novels are not a new phenomenon, the current version of evangelical romance begins with the rise of neo-evangelicals in the 1960s and the rise of Billy Graham. Authors like Eugenia Price (1965) and Catherine Marshall navigated the rise of the evangelical print media, establishing a place for women in public leadership through the marketplace. Catherine Marshall’s Christy (1967) offered a deep story of faith and culture in Appalachia for its evangelical audience, and the book spent thirty-eight weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.

While notable, a separate marketplace of Christian romance did not truly occur until the 1980s, due to an increase in explicit sexuality in the romance novel market (Dell’s book line Ecstasy, Harlequin’s Temptation, Silhouette’s Desire). Christian Female readers revolted, writing letters to Christian publishers asking for Christian romance novels with less sexuality (Zondervan, Thomas Nelson, Bethany House, Multnomah). [8] An outcome of this cry was Janette Oke’s popular series Love Comes Softly (1979) and Beverly Lewis’s The Shunning (1997), both of which were discovered by editor Carol Johnson (Bethany House).

If the themes Redeeming Love seem a little too sexual for the intended evangelical women’s audience, the marketplace transition from secular to sacred may offer the answer. As women transitioned from “mommy porn” to “Life-changing fiction” alongside Rivers, the themes would not have come as a surprise. ( Karen Kingsbury is one such woman, who, inspired by Rivers, became an author of Christian Fiction.)

Redeeming Themes

What story is the Redeeming Love movie telling?

Redeeming Love (2022) opens with William Shakespeare’s phrase, “All that glitters is not gold,” and pans (pun intended) to a group of dirty prospectors searching for gold in the California Gold Rush (1835-1855). This contrast between glitter and gold is a symbolic theme throughout the rest of the film carefully adapted from Rivers’ novel. Based on the book of Hosea, this film tells the story of Angel, a prostitute in Pair-a-Dice, who finds the redeeming love of God through Michael Hosea, a Christian farmer who was told by God to marry Angel.

The movie does not shy away from the difficult themes within the novel, nor does it hesitate to offer graphic visuals. Addressing abuse, prostitution, infidelity, rape, incest, child molestation, grooming, murder, sex, and abortion within the film, Redeeming Love is incredibly deserving of its PG-13 rating.

But no one who read the novel should be surprised.

In fact, Francine River’s novel is much more sexually explicit (the 1997 “redeemed” version, let alone the original 1991 version). Michael Hosea became a much softer character in the movie version: less likely to have angry or violent fits, force Angel to follow his will, or bring her to his home without her consent. (The scene where he takes Angel to see the sunrise is Michael forcibly ripping a naked and scared Angel out of bed without her consent. Likewise, the chasing scenes when she leaves are not sweet, more frequent, and with less choice to return on Angel’s part.) The sex scenes are also remarkably toned down and less frequent. (While Angel’s apparent orgasm may seem graphic in the movie, in the book, Michael forces Angel to call his name repeatedly during the first time they have sex. When Angel refuses, he loses his temper.) Angel’s overabundant misery is decreased in the film version, leaving out instances of Angel’s abuse by various people (including being abandoned by her nanny as the nanny goes off and has sex).

While Christianity is at the center of the film, as it is based on the book of Hosea, this has also been toned down in the film. Conversion experiences are replaced with religious symbols like crosses and church buildings, and redemptive salvation becomes the pursuit of belief.

What Does This Mean

Redeeming Love should be jarring.

The graphic themes and sexuality reasonably shock critics who struggle to understand both the themes and the intended audience. But after looking at the long history of the Christian romance marketplace, the high audience ratings should also not be surprising. As a toned-down version of mommy-porn, Redeeming Love offers a “cleaner” version of well-loved romance novels to its female audience.

But while Redeeming Love addresses some difficult themes in women’s lives and offers the hope of redemption to all, it does brush some problematic behaviors under the rug. Its Biblical tie-in can lead to problematic conclusions about abuse and consent that should not exist in understandings of marriage, or, more importantly, in pictures of God’s redeeming love. Portraying Michael Hosea in a God-like role allows a man with sexual desires and a temper to be seen as a redeemer of a fallen woman: a broken man whose actions stand above reproach or correction.

I am not quite sure that redemption has saved Redeeming Love .

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An In-Depth Look at the Movie Version of Redeeming Love

I never know what y’all will get upset about and what you’ll be supportive about, so today I’m taking a risk. I have no idea how this post will be received. But that’s okay.

So let’s dive in.

When I heard that there was going to be a Redeeming Love movie, I frankly didn’t care . I’ve never read the book, and I probably won’t (just … not interested) , and there just wasn’t anything about the movie itself that looked particularly appealing to me.

Then the controversy started. It’s all died down (at least in my circles now), but at the time, it was overwhelming. At least for me. I refrained from taking a definitive stance, but I must say, I thought both sides of the argument were being somewhat silly.

And I’m sorry if when I say that, you’re offended, but goodness, y’all. It was dramatic . It was either “you are a prude who can’t enjoy a good movie with a deep theme because purity culture has blinded you to seeing sex in a healthy light” or “you are actively watching pornography and therefore destroying your chances of having healthy sexual relationships with your husband.”

Both sides thought healthy sexual relationships between married Christians were at risk (either because you watched the movie or because you didn’t), though, which interested me because I believe in healthy sexual relationships between married Christians.

And it further interested me given that I had a somewhat vague idea of what the book was about. And it didn’t seem like a plot that should worry about that too much.

But I still didn’t care and still didn’t want to watch it. Unfortunately, one day a couple months ago, now that all the controversy has died down, I was bored, and when I am bored, I do strange things. Like watching awful movies.

And I’ll give you a spoiler alert: though I fall into neither of the exact camps precisely, I saw little that was redeemable about Redeeming Love . So if that’ll just rile you up, this is a good post to avoid.

However, if you’re interested in a post discussing, in depth, exactly what happens in the movie and what inherent worth I (some random chick on the internet who knows nothing about nothing) thinks it has, well, you’re welcome to read on.

Let’s start with a plot summary.

NOTE: this plot summary is inaccurate, but it’s what I observed while watching the movie. If I missed details or added details that weren’t there, I apologize.

The Plot Summary

(NOTE: this is meant to be taken in a tongue-in-cheek manner.)

The story opens on a western town during the Gold Rush. A huge crowd of minors are essentially drawing lots (picking numbers) to decide who gets to sleep with the most popular prostitute, “Angel.” She apparently takes a certain number of patrons a night and is owned/prostituted out by a madam (later found out she’s called “the Duchess”) who cares about her not one mite.

Here, Angel flashes back to her childhood where she’s actually called Sarah. Apparently Sarah’s “Papa” is not married to her mother (has another family) and sends presents but hates that Sarah’s mother gives Sarah the presents rather than keeping them for herself. Sarah’s “Papa” then has an argument with her mother after sending Sarah away during which he tells Sarah’s mother she should’ve had an abortion and slaps her around. Great thing for a kid to overhear, right?

Sarah is of course upset because … well, everything . She even asks her mother if perhaps it would be best if she died so “Papa” could hang out with Mother again. Mother, of course, rejects this notion because she loves Sarah.

Then we come back to Angel in “present time” who is hanging out with a couple prostitutes, some of which are trading tales of abuse/how they became prostitutes. It’s not terribly graphic, and it made me feel bad for the other prostitutes. (Not so much Angel, but meh.)

We’re also introduced to the main male lead who we later find out is called Michael. He’s your typical Christian good boy. I personally didn’t find him super interesting (here or later). He’s introduced working hard on his farm and hanging out with his dog with a golden filter placed over the scene.

He goes to a church and prays within the first 30 seconds of his introduction in a rather cliché way—and he asks for a wife or at least some guidance/a sign on how to get one. Because you know. It’s very, um … well, it’s typical of this kind of story but not necessarily of how Christians actually act. But it’s perfectly fine and is an example of a character seeking the Lord’s guidance on something. At least.

This whole thing takes too long, in my humble opinion. I was ready to get into the plot because we were almost 15 minutes in at this point.

When Michael goes into town, he sees Angel walking through the streets (since she goes walking twice a week with a bodyguard to show off the wares). A storekeeper dude who Michael knows explains that Angel is a prostitute and that there’s a lottery to sleep with her.

And Michael, being so smart, suddenly goes, “That’s the girl.” While gazing dreamily at her. Yeah, I … I am very interested to see how cringey this can get. Because this is already a pretty cringey understanding of romance.

I do understand theoretically that God CAN hop down from Heaven and tell you what to do in this way, but something about the portrayal of the characters and the way Michael went about winning Angel after this made me feel like God would not approve of this. But whatever. That’s just one woman’s opinion.

Then we flash back again to young Angel/Sarah who is having a conversation with a servant lady who tells her that her Papa is an evil man, “nobody cares about anybody in this world,” all men just want to use you, et cetera. The servant lady terms this as “God’s truth.”

Then we seem to skip forward a mite in the flashback. Apparently Sarah’s mother has now been tossed out by her lover/Sarah’s “Papa” and is having to support herself and Sarah with further prostitution which is shown pretty vaguely. (By the way, the actress who plays Young Sarah is adorable and pretty talented for a child of that age. Totally bought her performances. She is the best actor in this film.)

Then Sarah’s mother is dying now as mothers are wont to do. She coughs a lot and Sarah tries to nurse her to health. Sarah’s mother encourages Sarah to pray, repeating The Lord’s Prayer. And then she goes ahead and dies. Again, as mothers are wont to do.

Then we flash forward to the present where Sarah/Angel gets drunk and is manhandled by her bodyguard. He swears she has something she’s hiding (this just confused me?) and tosses her into a tub and attempts to drown her and/or teach her a lesson (while she’s like, “do it” which is what I’d say in her position, too—but girl, are we ever going to address the constant string of suicidal thoughts coming from your mouth because …? You sound really depressed). She then gets slapped around by the madam.

So far neither Angel nor Michael have really made me like them, but maybe that’s coming. 22 minutes in, and I don’t care about anything.

Then Michael just shows up in Angel’s room while she is naked. We see her naked back and then her naked front with her hair hiding a small portion of her breasts to keep that PG-13 rating. After all, modest is hottest. Meanwhile, Michael just stands behind and acts all pure in a secular sense when really a true Christian man would be a: averting his eyes out of respect to this absolutely naked woman and b: considerably more awkward especially as presumably this is the first time he’s seen a naked woman. But whatever.

But apparently Michael just wants to talk. They have a kind of pointless conversation for a bit while Kell impatiently waited for the plot to start. Michael really sucks at getting to the point. Which Angel clearly thinks too because she’s like, “Can we just get this thing over with?” But Michael proposes and won’t stop insisting she should marry him until Angel kicks him out.

Michael, you see, is convinced that Angel should marry him. In fact, that it is God’s will that he marry this prostitute that he knows nothing about and has only just met. He pays double in the lottery to get to see her again the next night. They talk and Michael repeats his offer. (At least they’ve talked some at this point, but he’s still annoying, so healthy relationship? Nope.)

And Michael hasn’t given up because apparently “no” is not a word a real Christian man understands. It’s supposed to be romantic that he’s willing to pay that much gold to see her night after night, but really it’s just creepy and overbearing.

I suppose you could say it’s a theological quibble, but my personal belief is that sometimes God closes a door and you can tell because you keep banging on the door and it doesn’t open. Michael could stand to learn that.

Also, in another scene where Angel is talking with the other prostitutes, we’re shown that Angel is an utterly unlikable jerk. Really helping the plot along.

Then the next night, while Michael is on the way up to Angel’s room, another prostitute approaches him but Michael shakes her off and goes up to Angel. He seems to be mad at her because she sicked said other prostitute on him. (I can’t even with this man’s entitlement. What a jerk.) Anyway, he snaps at her, reminds her that she’s the best he’ll ever get, and then kisses her. Then when she of course is like, “Okay, cool, let’s do it and get it out of the way,” he tells her to stop like it wasn’t his idea.

He feels so unsafe. I’m just … so scared of him? He seems to have a temper, he doesn’t care what she wants, and he won’t take “no” for an answer. I actively dislike him AND Angel now.

So anyway, she insults his farm, and he walks off all angry because he is a pouty child. As we have another flashback to where Angel/Sarah is young and being taken care of by someone else after her mother has died, I remind myself that Michael is the stand-in for Hosea and therefore God. And I giggle with amusement.

So anyways, we have a scene where some man pretty much sells Angel/Sarah (who is a baby of maybe eight at the time) into prostitution even after someone begs him not to. It’s sad but not really graphic. I mean, the guy who brought Angel/Sarah is strangled by the New Bad Guy, but it’s pretty PG in my opinion. Dark but PG.

New Bad Guy then pours perfectly good brandy on said strangled man. Then the New Bad Guy asks baby Sarah/Angel to come over and I went, “Oh, this is it. She’s gonna get raped.” I was so worried for her! He has her sit on his lap and calls her his “Little Angel.” But he basically just says she has to do what he tells her and they’ll get along. However, it is of course implied that he’s going to groom her/abuse her/etc.

Then we see “Little Angel” learning to read. It looks like she’s put in somewhat sexualized costumes and groomed by the New Bad Guy (he has her do things for him, earns her trust by treating her fairly well, and when she grows older, he begins using her at his classy prostitute joint).

Unfortunately, one of her first patrons (?) was her Papa (?!?! oof) who kills himself immediately afterwards once he finds out who she was. We pretty much see the suicide up to the moment where he kills himself (he has bad form, by the way—that’s now how you shoot yourself to actually be painless) … and then we see Angel sitting next to a bed crying but pretty much clothed in our modern terms. Not terribly graphic but certainly dark. Not that dark is a bad thing.

Then the nice prostitute, Sally, who mentored Angel (?) encourages Angel to run, and she does and gets on a ship. Then Sally is seen dumped on a street, dead, after one of the Bad Guy’s henchman tells the Bad Guy she was the one who helped Angel run.

On the ship, Angel meets two other prostitutes who encourage her to also be a prostitute on the ship so to earn money, telling her they might “take it for free” otherwise. So Angel does. Not much graphic about this. We are seeing an awful lot of the top of this actress’s breasts, but oh well. Gritty Christian movie must gritty Christian movie.

As soon as they get off the ship, the other two prostitutes violently knock Angel out and steal her money, then leave her lying on the street. You do see some blood on her face.

Back to “present day.” Angel has a headache. (Sidenote: I’m going to stop commenting on the sheer amount of different angles of Angel’s twin angels that we keep seeing, but suffice to say, you get everything but the nipple in this movie. It’s a lot and oftentimes it’s just for the heck of it? I don’t mind it if there’s a reason, but there rarely is other than to sexualize this young woman. In a movie whose point is the exact opposite of that. But whatever.)

So anyways, Angel asks for “her gold” from the Madame so she can leave and get her own place or maybe even get married. Which Madame says is ridiculous because Angel can only “make a man happy for thirty minutes” whereas if she were married, she’d have to make a man happy all the time and have sex with him whenever he wants which is … worse than prostitution? Hmm. (I’m just saying, Angel presumably has a multitude of patrons a night, and yet one man would only …? Okay, I’ll stop, but I fault the lady’s logic is all.)

Angel then gets super angry and insults the Madame (her name is “the Duchess” but I’m not using tons of names here so I think I’ll stick with what I’ve been calling her) which was a mistake because it gets her slapped around, insulted, and then raped (or at least beat up badly?) by her bodyguard dude. Basically, bodyguard dude drags her to her bedroom and beats her because she won’t stop provoking him like an absolute idiot.

So this wakes Michael up in a cold sweat (?!!) and the next morning, he runs up to Angel’s room and finds her lying in bed, all beaten up. He literally pulls money out of his sleeves (lol why is it there Michael) and hands it to the madame to BUY Angel from her then asks the half-conscious Angel to marry him AGAIN.

That’s coercion.

So anyway, he puts her half-conscious self in his wagon and drives off.

Also, they have really beaten her into utter unrecognizable swollenness at this point.

So Angel wakes up in his cabin, and apparently they’re married (consent?), and he provides her with his dead sister’s clothes. Then he tells her he didn’t marry her for sex, and we flash forward to three weeks later when she’s pretty again.

Oh, and able to walk, but you know, I’m just reading between the lines.

So he’s off doing something, so she gets dressed and walks off with, apparently, no appreciation for the fact that he MARRIED her. Like, girl, you need to think about the legalities here. Not to say that she didn’t do the right thing, though, because Michael is scary, manipulative, and she did not agree to this.

Also, Michael rides his horse abusively. You can tell a lot about a man …

So Michael chases her down, and she slaps himself (deserved). He then gives her a coat and water and tells her she has two options: going back to prostitution and abuse or coming home with him.

No third option is offered so she ends up coming back.

Let us just remind ourselves that romantic relationships should not be based on an either/or fallacy.

He then washes her dirty, calloused feet. It’s actually … somewhat sensual? Not much, but enough that I was weirded out. Which is followed by him combing her hair and her offering sex and him refusing and them talking about God briefly. Including restating Angel’s untrue belief that God is evil and Michael’s untrue belief that God told him to marry Angel.

The next day, they enter into a few fantasy scenes in which farm work is charming and would actually help someone fall in love. Anywho, we see his bare chest because #handsomehunk—and he is still resisting having sex with her still. “Cold showers” (dips in a lake) and all.

Then Angel has a dream about the dude who groomed her in which he tells her she can’t escape and is still his. When she wakes up screaming, Michael drags her out of bed and forces her to go on a sunrise nature walk, saying she has no choice. Super charming. And gives her a little speech about how he’s going to make her life so good.

Then she equates sex to love, and he smooches her. They get back to the cabin and have sex, and basically, we see some passionate kisses, the undressing, her leg hitched up over his back, them falling back on the bed, and there is panting and all that super uncomfortable stuff.

Then we fade to black.

It’s too much, and should’ve been cut off sooner, but it’s definitely a mild PG-13.

This one wasn’t awful, but it does eventually get worse, so hang in there.

My main problem with that scene, though, is that … well, y’all can say “we need more healthy relationships in fiction with healthy sex” but this isn’t a healthy relationship or healthy sex? Healthy sex is non-obligatory and not equated to love but rather an expression of love. It’s basically the works vs. fruits argument in which sex should be a FRUIT not a WORK.

So like? I don’t know. It doesn’t work.

On the other hand, since love is a choice, you can theoretically have a healthy sex life without being madly in love. However, there’s something about this that feels icky. I can’t express it—it’s not just the sex. There have been secular romances that have featured this much content and not felt icky.

This feels icky.

Michael’s brother-in-law, Paul, stumbles in. Michael introduces Paul to Angel who recognizes her. He doesn’t let on to Michael, but when he talks to Angel alone, she provokes him because of course she does. Of course, Paul isn’t really pleased about seeing Angel in his wife’s clothes—he feels like she doesn’t deserve the life she has now. And he’s just … threatening.

So Paul tells Michael things he already knows—and Michael defends Angel and then punches Paul in the face because he has anger issues. Also, I’m beginning to realize that Michael has unlimited cash because he is constantly throwing money at problems—such as when he offers to pay Paul whatever he wants if he just leaves.

Anyways, we flash back to Angel being forced to have an abortion back when she was a prostitute, triggered by Michael saying he wants children with her. (It’s not graphic, but we see some of the instruments they used to remove the baby and hear her screaming at them to not kill her baby.) Back in the current timeline, Angel then hops in the wagon with Paul, intent on going back to the town with him.

Angel then continues to provoke Paul, who tells her that she owes him for the ride to town. Angel agrees and off screen, it’s implied they had sex or … well, there was an exchange of sexual favors. I’ll leave you to determine the rest. *coughs* The good news is her hair still looks amazing afterwards.

I would like to note I’m not blaming Angel for any of this when I say “she provokes someone,” but she does tend to get herself into situations. Which feels unrealistic for an abuse victim and makes you wonder why, if she’s that brave already, she isn’t able to extricate herself from some of this nonsense.

I just feel like it’s not realistic for abuse victims, but correct me if I’m wrong. (Legitimately. I’m curious to know if anyone who has done a more in-depth study of sexual abuse victims has insights.)

Paul then drops her off outside of town because he “won’t be seen with her.” Angel insults him one more time just for the heck of it because it’s worth her time to tell him what a hypocrite he is. When Angel gets to the town, the place she used to work is burnt down, a couple prostitutes and the bodyguard dude are dead, and the madame is gone. Another dude offers her work, and Angel agrees as long as she handles the money.

I said I wouldn’t but I’m going to comment again on just how much of Angel’s body we keep seeing for no discernible reason.

When Paul gets back and tells Michael where Angel is, Michael tracks her down to the new place where she’s living. He finds Angel who is with a man and asks her if she wants to stay—she says “no” (heat of the moment, much? I’m not sure why she agreed to go with Michael this time, especially since presumably her situation is financially better). Anyways, he beats up a couple dudes.

Michael knows that Paul and Angel had sex, but he insists he loves Angel (not sure he knows the meaning of the word—really, he’s obsessed with Angel in an unhealthy way—even if he were a stand-up guy, this is NOT love) … and yeah, they go home.

Angel finds Michael crying in the barn that night. The next day, he finds her in a creek, self-harming (rubbing rocks all over her skin to try to “clean herself”). Michael drags her out and tells her he forgives her (because that’ll fix her obvious trauma response). Angel tells him that he needs to stop having expectations of her (fair) and Michael refuses to listen because he doesn’t listen to people.

This is a safe man to be in a covenant relationship with. Not.

Michael then tells Angel how his dad was a plantation owner, beat him, and told him that the slaves were animals, but an old slave told him about God. Michael’s dad sent him a slave girl to use as a prostitute one night, which was the final straw for him, and he packed up and left. Michael pulls a message of faith out of this, which would feel a lot more earned if he was a decent guy, but he’s not.

I am reminded once again as to how it is the duty of Christian fiction writers to make some sort of nod to the fact that they are not racist, and like, why do we always have to do this? I mean, I get it. I do. But it feels so performative. We all know slavery is evil. We don’t need ALL our characters to state this fact in every book.

Anyways, Angel starts settling back into farm life and seems to be doing better because, I don’t know, it’s time for that to happen in the movie. A traveling family shows up with a very pregnant mother and two daughters. Their dad needs help fixing up the wagon, so they stay with Angel and Michael and make friends and decide to stay forever.

There is singing. The plot has stalled.

The baby has come with no drama, thank the Lord.

Apparently Michael forgives Paul even though the right decision would be to never forgive the man who slept with your wife. According to me, I mean. (To be fair, my husband would probably have already committed some homicide at this point, so I never will have to worry about that, but meh.)

Angel is reminded by the baby that Michael wants kids. She is saddened. She tells Michael she can’t get pregnant because she was sterilized after her first pregnancy. He tells her he loves her, and later, they have sex on a hilltop out in the open. Mostly clothed, granted (she just pops off her top like a normal person having sex out in the cold—literally why, Angel? Look, not to get too graphic, but there is literally nothing that is more of a turn-off than COLD), but we get the whole thing—the faces, the panting, the movements. I’ve seen less in MA-rated shows. It wasn’t fade to black.

So that was just heavily disturbing.

Anyways, after this, Angel leaves one of the daughters who is staying with them a note saying she can have Michael (why do women always act like they can just pass men around?) and yeets, this time going all the way to San Francisco. And this time, Michael refuses to go fetch her, for some entirely unexplained reason. He’s also bitter, but this time he’s not doing anything about it.

So in San Francisco, Angel works serving food for a while, but then the place she works gets burnt down and the Bad Guy from earlier finally finds her.

Meanwhile, Michael keeps asking “Jesus” to “let him go after Angel.” I love how it’s not explained that Jesus told him not to go after Angel, nor that He’s told Michael to do anything, nor is it convincing that Michael has anything but a delusional relationship with God, but whatever.

This is giving Christianity a bad name. To quote my sister-in-law, “We’re not all crazy like Michael.”

So anyways, the Bad Guy takes Angel back to his prostitution parlor where he is grooming a child who is maybe eight or nine. Angel calls him out on this because provocation is a good idea. Granted, that is such a baby, and I would be defending that baby, but … Angel has never been accused of being smart. I would stealthily steal the baby and gave her safe. Poor babies.

The Bad Guy leaves and we hear little girls screaming in the background while Angel collapses to the ground, sobbing and probably having another PTSD episode, but the film will probably not address that PTSD in a healthy way, so let’s not think about that.

Anywho, they dress Angel up and drag her to the stage again. She prays for God to save her and the girls (children and teenagers) who are being made to perform. Then she tells the crowd what the Bad Guy has been doing with little girls and with her.

The Bad Guy drags her off the stage and wants to kill her, but a guy from the crowd pins him down so Angel can run. On her way out, she rescues the two little girls who the Bad Guy currently has in his rooms.

As Angel runs out with the girls, the crowd realizes that she was telling the truth and storms the building. They find the Bad Guy and hang him (his body is shown dangling on screen).

Three years later (YES THAT MUCH OF A TIME JUMP), Paul sees Angel in San Francisco where she is running a house/school/sanctuary for former prostitutes. (My sister-in-law says it’s not that, so before you @ me, read on) He comes there and sees her. We find out that Paul married the daughter Angel wanted to marry Michael while Michael remained single.

Because he’s still waiting for Angel, of course. This dumb—

Anyways, Angel tells Paul that he should go tell Michael she’s dead so he will move on. Paul bursts into tears and tells Angel he’s changed and is sorry for all he’s done and wants forgiveness. (Forgive, yes. Forget, never .) And yeah, she forgives him, because trauma is not a big deal, right?

Paul asks Angel to come back and end Michael’s suffering. Angel refuses because she’s needed at San Francisco. Which is true! The place she’s working now seems both safe and healing. (I don’t know how she afforded that, but you know. Whatever.)

I’ve just been informed, after making the above comment about affording things, that it’s just a school that she works at, not a safe house or anything. I am less impressed. Though I’m not sure if my sister-in-law or I are more right, so I’ll leave it up to y’all who read the book/paid more attention.

So anyways, Angel arrives back at the farm as a Lauren Daigle song plays and both my sister-in-law and I scream, “Noooo.”

Sorry, I just can’t get behind Lauren Daigle because I am not an emotional Christian by nature, and her songs breathe emotion to me.

I’m lame like that.

Angel tells Michael her real name is Sarah and apologizes, and Michael gives her the ring she left behind back because he’s apparently been wearing it on his pinky finger all this time. They pledge eternal devotion to each other. Michael again says he loves her even though I will repeat that this is not true.

If she wakes up some time to him making a sculpture of her out of her hair, I would not be surprised.

Then we flash forward to them with a baby son and her pregnant again. But like, I thought we established that she can’t have children? Whatever.

End of Movie. Thank The Lord Above That This Is Over.

Some Thoughts You Don’t Need

So that was … an experience I would not trade for all the world. I have lost some brain cells, and I love movies that help me lose brain cells. Because, you know, I am depressed and enjoy pain.

I came into the movie with an open mind, really wanting to like it because I’m obstinate, and so many of my friends disliked it. Further, so many of my friends called it sinful, evil, etc., that I couldn’t help but decide that that was an extreme view.

On the flipside, a lot of reviews from people who loved the movie were really judgmental about people who hated the movie, Which I, you know, also was all over.

I expected it to have vaguely sensual scenes, but we got sex scenes that I swear I have seen less of in MA-rated shows. I expected it to be mildly toxic, but we had creepy men and incorrect views of Christian marriage for days. I expected it to be somewhat badly-written and moderately low on plot, but it practically a dark Hallmark movie.

What I didn’t have a problem with? The accurate depiction of the trauma caused by sexual abuse, the evilness inherent in sex trafficking and sexual grooming, and all related aspects of the story. I thought it was tasteful and gave just the right amount of detail.

The problem is, the story didn’t go the extra mile to portray realistic healing from PTSD, the people around Angel were never safe people, and there weren’t a lot of proffered resources within the film to realistically address the situations at hand. I feel like the only thing that was really offered was “pray about it,” but that’s really not enough.

As I mentioned in the summary, they were forcefully given that “perfect ending” that felt both unearned and unrealistic (especially given that no explanation was given in the movie itself as to what kind of “sterilization,” effective or not, Angel went through and how that just magically resolved?! It feels like instead of healthily representing infertility, the movie just chose to let the main characters “pray it away,” and like, yes, the movie didn’t have to deal with infertility, but neither did it need to create artificial drama for like a few scenes only to immediately dismiss it? I guess I’m too sensitive about this topic, though).

Another aspect to address is that I have heard the book is supposed to be based on the story of Hosea. However, the movie did NOT get that across. I haven’t read the book. It probably got that across perfectly and is a great book.

But as an objective piece of media, this movie does not work in that way. There is no pointing toward God. There was no real belief in me by the time the credits rolled that there was an analogy, and I was actively looking for it. I can’t even imagine what it would look like to someone who didn’t know, all along, that Michael was supposed to be God in this story, and Angel us, the fallen bride.

Or you could argue that Michael is supposed to be Hosea, but that in the Bible itself is a prophetic analogy used by God to describe His relationship with Israel …? Hosea was a prophet, not some random dude with a troubled wife?

Because we are not God and husbands are not expected to do everything for their wives in the same manner God did everything for Israel. Husbands cannot forgive their wives’ sins. Husbands cannot stand in place for God to their wives; husbands cannot be a high priest for their wives.

In addition, the story wanders greatly from the original storyline of Hosea by including the child trafficking thread, correct? Therefore, why can’t the story just be something on its own? “Inspired by” is one thing, but I’ve had a lot of people tell me that it’s a retelling, which is a different matter entirely because then, again, it puts Michael in the position of either the Lord or a prophet of the Lord, in which case …

You are saying that the Lord needs us in the same way a man might desire to have sex with a beautiful woman. I’m sorry if that’s a little too crude an interpretation, but this is not a media excluded to the high-thinking amongst us, and as such, it needs to try a little harder to not make those direct comparisons.

At best, though, it puts God in the place of a human man, which is an analogy used in the Bible, after all. Marriage is one of the best representations of God’s love for us and relationship with His bride, the Church. But it’s not a perfect analogy.

To quote a reviewer of the book, “The popularity of this book and some of the comments are representative of the “God as love” or some kind of “divine romancer” beliefs that are prevalent, as if God needs us and is desperate for us, rather than the other way around. The author writes that God says, “Though you deny me, I love you with an everlasting love.” That is not in line with Scripture, where God does not love with an everlasting love those who deny Him. God hates sin (and sinners) and demands obedience. Yes, God loves us and forgives us when we sin if we approach Him through trust in Jesus, but that doesn’t give us a licence to sin or to presume upon His grace. Redemption (the supposed theme of this book) should lead to a complete transformation of heart and life.” ( See review. )

Okay, I’ll stop. I can’t sort it out. I am not a wise woman. I am a simple one, with simple beliefs.

And I simply decided that this movie fails to be a good movie and therefore does not have the right to hid behind the “it’s a RETELLING of a book of the Bible” excuse. If anything, that means we should scrutinize it more closely, not give it free license to do what we want.

This is just not my type of romance. I love masculine, I-would-die-for-her, godly men who chase down their women and do what men are supposed to do—love them.

But I dislike men who treat women like chattel. Yes, that’s a thing, and yes, it’s bad!!! Michael treated Angel like a man treats a woman he doesn’t respect. Because all life deserves respect.

Is respect a necessary element of a man’s love for a woman in a Christian marriage? Yeah, it is. We both need and crave love and respect, just to differing degrees as we are, in fact, different. But women need to know that they are wanted for something more than their body, and they need to be brought into a relationship willingly.

And what about consent? That’s the buzz-word amongst non-Christians. Is it even important in a Christian relationship?

YES. In fact, it is even more vital amongst Christians because we should have higher standards. Not to the “you have to ask your wife every time you kiss her” way because that’s nonsense. In fact, if you’re doing that, well, either you’re dealing with some trauma responses (valid) or you might want to rethink your relationship.

But sexual relationships should not be an obligation. There should be no room for guilt in the marriage bed. And women should not be dragged back, kept inside, MADE to submit.

If you’re a Christian man, ask yourself, is her unwilling, fear-based submission really what you want? And if you’re a Christian women, if he makes you feel like that, how can I help you run ?

Well, what do you think? I’m legitimately curious, and I’m up for hearing all sorts of opinions! Though if you know me at all, you know calling me a prude is gonna get them eye-rolls.

What do you think of my thoughts?

25 responses.

I’m so glad for your in-depth analysis of Redeeming Love, it saved me the time it would’ve taken to watch it lol. I was also on the sidelines watching everyone freak out over this movie earlier in the year and planned to watch it at some point after the drama died down, because nobody freaking out over it had even seen it. So you saved me the trouble xD I really hoped that this movie held themes of HEALTHY healing and recovery, while not whitewashing the traumas of trafficking and PTSD, because that’s something I really wish Christian media/movies/etc would get into without either minimizing the victim or offering some strange “Christian boy fixes everything” plot line…Guess we’re not there yet.

That was my issue, too … no one who was posting, calling it bad or possibly good, had actually seen it! I was like, “… guys.” How can you be informed without having at least a basic introduction to what is in the show? Granted, they may have read a more in-depth review than I was able to find, but still. 😛

And I’m glad I saved you the trouble! It also just wasn’t that interesting/well-acted/etc., which was another issue entirely that didn’t even seem to deserve words for me after I got through all the other issues, lol.

Kelly, I liked you before I read this, but after I think we may secretly be kindred spirits. You’re beyond balanced and rooted in Christ and common sense in how you portray and interpret situations. This is really inspiring. I wish all the reviews of this movie were as balanced as yours.

Aw, thank you, Brielle! That’s such a blessing to hear. 🙂 I think you’re right – we are secret kindred spirits. From the outside, we might not look like we have loads and loads in common, but we definitely do! And I’m so glad you enjoyed this review/found it balanced … that was my goal!

Gotta say, I love it when your posts begin with, “This is controversial, so…” 😂

I haven’t seen this film and don’t plan to, because I’m quite strict about what I watch (personal convictions, definitely not saying everyone else has to adhere to them). I have read the book though, and I agree with a lot of your points.

The book has a good story—it really does. But Michael and Angel’s relationship is just… creepy. It bothered me how he literally drags her unconscious body out of the brothel and is like, “I know you said you hate me, but I’m marrying you whether you want to or not.” And she’s just like, “Sure…?” BECAUSE WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO WHEN YOU’RE HALF UNCONSCIOUS AND BEING DRAGGED AWAY IN A WAGON?!?!?! Rubbed me the wrong way, for sure.

And then there’s so much sex. So. Much. Sex. Like, for a little while they’re having sex every other page. And I’m just like, “STOPPPPPP!!! We get it, they’re married! We don’t have to know every detail of their marital state!” I’ll be the first to admit I’m more sensitive to that kind of thing than the majority of people, but still… yikes.

But Michael is a little better in the book than he seems to be in the movie (based on your summary, anyway). He’s still kind of fake-feeling, but he’s less creepy. His motivations are more explained, I guess.

Honestly, I was about 80% sure that book Michael was less creepy than movie Michael for the reason that seeing his internal thoughts would’ve helped a LOT. But even so, things like that “dragging a half-unconscious woman into a wagon and calling her ‘sure’ consent” is just … not something that works for me. Plus the whole “we’re getting married whether you want to or not,” in my personal belief system is not a good analogy to use for God/His people, either. So I was just like, “Yeah, nope.”

And yeah, I’m all for a representation of healthy marriage within the Christian fiction genre. I appreciate it. But this was both unhealthy and way too detailed, at least in my opinion. I definitely support a “gritty” (just honest) sort of Christian fiction, as you know having read a lot of my books, but … yeah no. This was something else!

“Redeeming Love” is trash. Thank you for inviting me to your Ted talk.

That’s kind of where I ended up. I didn’t want to say that in so many words, but just … what in the fundamentalist nightmare? Anyways, thank you for coming. 😛

What in the fundamentalist nightmare, indeed!

(I would have left a much longer comment yesterday, but I was wiped out after work, so I HAVE RETURNED WITH FURTHER THOUGHTS.)

I do think it’s a shame that the conversation around this movie in Christian circles was reduced to “sex scenes: good or bad????” Because as you so adroitly pointed out, Jeeves, there is MUCH that is wrong with this movie apart from the question of sex scenes; namely, that it presents a toxic, controlling man as an allegory for our loving God, and a non-consensual relationship as a symbol of our covenant with Him. *John Mulaney voice* “First off, NO.”

I’ve read some of Francine Rivers’ other work (“A Voice in the Wind”) and was far from impressed. More toxic men, more controlling relationships with unhealthy power imbalances. I think she was so caught up in writing cHRISTIAN EROTICISM–“look at me, I’m the only Christian fiction author who does sex scenes”–that she forgot to ask herself whether her romances were, y’know, Good?

Yeah, that irritates me, too. It’s funny to me that the actual content of the story got ignored in favor of just squabbling over the sexual content. Now, to be fair, I personally felt the sexual content was very bad. That said, there’s more to it than that. Which to me all ties together. If one part of a work in inherently flawed, then the rest often becomes that way, too.

I think I’ve read that one, too, and mostly just felt like it was all such a mess that there wasn’t anything about it that I felt worth criticizing.

I think you summed up my thoughts in a coherent and Christian manner that I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish. I might be learning other languages but you wouldn’t have been able to understand my indignant gibberish 😇

LOL! Yeah, I was more bemused than upset throughout. It just doesn’t make any logical sense to me why this story would exist.

I really appreciate your in-depth summary and analysis of this! I’d already decided not to watch it, but this convinces me even more. It sounds like it had the potential to be a great story about healing and forgiveness, but fell short of the mark. Which is really too bad, because we need more good stories that portray the real darkness in this world in a tasteful, realistic, and biblical way.

Yes, I really wish there’d been more value to the story because a lot of the elements could’ve worked with a few tweaks, but the whole thing ended up just not being helpful.

The more I read the more I felt your frustration building and the more my eye twitched because I can’t believe some people think this movie is good or healthy. 😵‍💫 Plugged In’s content review was honestly the only one I trusted to be unbiased (not to mention written by someone who actually watched the movie) so once I read that I knew I’d never watch it, but wow. Even that didn’t fully capture the problems. I just… wow.

Yup, to me the sexual content took a backseat to just how nonsensical, lacking in reality, and utterly toxic the characters, plot, etc., were.

Ah, thank you for this post. Honestly, I have NEVER understood the overwhelming love for the book nor the movie… As bad as the movie is the descriptions of the book were worse. I just want to scream WHYYYYYY when I hear raving over this one.

Yeah, not even going to touch this movie in my life.

Yeah, it was ridiculous. To me, it seems like maybe it’s the idea that it has a deep biblical theme, and once people have determined that within themselves, and further started sympathizing with the characters (which I imagine is easier if you’re reading the book and your empathy is going because you have seen all these things happen to the Poor Babies), you get attached and can’t separate those feelings from the horror of Michael “I Will Find You and Capture You” Smith (or whatever his last name was – I don’t remember).

Yes, exactly! And that’s the perfect name, lol.

I never did comment on this, but… thanks for this hilarious and solid post XD I also didn’t want to talk about RL before knowing more about it, so I appreciate having this to lean on!

Yup, absolutely! So glad you enjoyed it!

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I heartily agree with your assessment of the story, Kellyn. I have never watched the movie, but the book was a little too much for me, and I am actively trying to get it off my shelf. It is hard, since I have several friends and older ladies in my life who love it, but I cannot reconcile myself to the depth and twistedness of her portrayal of their relationship. It is more graphic than I ever wish I had read (not a prude, just personal convictions. As someone else mentioned, there was graphic content on every other page), and the story did not quite sit well with me, especially the more I delve into trauma-responses for one of my own stories. I love the book of Hosea, and I did not like Redeeming Love whatsoever. Very sad that such an amazing seed of an idea could turn into something so wrong. Blessings!

Thanks for commenting, Anna! As I think I mentioned in the post, I have never read the book … but I don’t really want to. 😛

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'redeeming love' movie review: big screen adaptation of beloved christian romance falls flat.

In the ’90s and early 2000s, Francine Rivers’ novel Redeeming Love took the Christian world by storm. Her modern retelling of the biblical account of the Hosea and his wayward wife, Gomer, sold 3 million copies and garnered hoards of loyal fans, not coincidentally at the height of purity culture.

Now, the book is hitting the big screen in a Universal Pictures film adaptation starring Abigail Cowen, Nina Dobrev, Tom Lewis and Eric Dane. The film is directed by DJ Caruso and produced by Roma Downey (“The Bible”) and Cindy Bond (“I Can Only Imagine”).

“Redeeming Love” opens in gold rush-era California, where disheveled men scrounge for gold in murky water before heading to Pair-o-Dice, where a cold woman known as “the Duchess” runs a brothel. There, the most sought-after prostitute is a young woman named Angel. Beautiful and flaxen-haired, Angel draws crowds of swarming men eager to receive her services.

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One particular man who spots Angel as she walks down the street, flanked by her towering bodyguard, is Michael Hosea. A soft-spoken, doe-eyed farmer, Michael is confident that God has appointed Angel to be his bride, the one he has waited for and prayed over. Though confused by God’s choice for him, Michael nevertheless decides to act in obedience and pursues Angel despite her reputation. 

Through a series of flashbacks, viewers learn Angel’s heartbreaking story.

Named Sarah, she was born out of wedlock in New England to her mother, Mae (Dobrev), and a married businessman, Alex (Josh Taylor). Afraid his reputation would be ruined should news of his infidelity come out, Alex rejects Sarah and cuts Mae off financially, forcing her to engage in a life of prostitution at the docks to make ends meet.

It’s not long before Mae dies. And an orphaned Sarah symbolically throws her mother’s cross necklace into the ocean, rejecting the faith her mother claimed. 

What follows is nothing short of a nightmare.

With nowhere to go, she finds herself trafficked by an Irish nobleman, “the Duke,” who sexually abuses her from a young age. Now known as “Angel,” she escapes the Duke’s clutches with the help of an older prostitute — who pays dearly for her efforts.

But after heading West, Angel once again finds herself in prostitution after being robbed of her earthly goods. But this time, a savior is waiting in the wings. 

Michael pays top-dollar to see Angel, using his hard-earned gold to spend 30 minutes simply talking to her. Though she parades in front of him naked, Michael refuses her advances, repeatedly telling her that she’s going to marry him. 

“We can’t do this yet,” he tells her as she attempts to seduce him. “We should wait until it means something to you.”

Michael continues to visit her until she becomes frustrated.

“I feel nothing for you,” she tells him. “You’re a dirt farmer.” 

Defeated, Michael returns home. But after Angel is brutally beaten by the brothel’s bodyguard, Michael travels to Pair-o-Dice and purchases the bloodied woman from the Duchess. He brings her home to his farm in an emotionally-charged scene. 

Michael tends to Angel as she recovers, and she agrees, begrudgingly, to marry him. But despite her new environment, Angel can’t shake her past — and abandons Michael on three occasions, leaving her wedding ring on the dresser. Though hurt, Michael continues to pursue Angel and offers her the choice to either stay with him or run away again.

Ultimately, Michael’s persistence and unfaltering faithfulness soften Angel’s heart. Although it was a grueling process, she eventually finds her self-worth, prompting her to forgive herself and champion other women involved in sex work. 

While the film is light on Scripture references, “Redeeming Love” is a clear retelling of Hosea 1-3.

In those passages, God instructs the prophet Hosea to marry a prostitute named Gomer. God tells Hosea that Gomer will continue to return to prostitution, yet he’s to forgive and love her, regardless of what she does.

Hosea’s story is beautiful, serving as a reminder of God’s unconditional love for His children and pursuit of them despite their disobedience. 

But the story — and the nuances of the biblical account of Hosea — don’t easily translate to the big screen.

Rated PG-13, “Redeeming Love” tries hard to deal gently with tough topics, but there’s no way to sugarcoat prostitution, sex trafficking, murder and incest. The film is rife with themes of redemption, forgiveness, unconditional love and mercy, but viewers will want to proceed with caution.

The sexual content in “Redeeming Love” is explicit.

Angel appears partially naked on several occasions, covered only by her hair and drapery. There are several sex scenes in the film, two between Michael and Angel, and others are referenced. Euphemisms for sex are littered throughout the movie, while prostitutes wear revealing outfits. It’s implied that the Duke repeatedly rapes Angel as a child — and disturbingly, she’s not his only young victim. 

The film also contains violence. In one instance, Angel watches as her caregiver is strangled, and she is also physically harmed by men on several occasions. Angels’ estranged father dies by suicide after discovering he’s had sex with her, and two men are shown hanging from the gallows. Vulgar language is also littered throughout the film.

Rivers was heavily involved in the film adaptation of her book, and she previously spoke to The Christian Post about her heart for the film. “I want people to see that no matter what’s been done to us or the sins we commit, God loves us and offers us new life through Jesus,” she said. 

The film’s redemptive and biblical themes are evident, but they are all too often overshadowed by explicit, sometimes unnecessary content that may not sit well with some Christian viewers. Though fans of Rivers’ novel will likely find the film nostalgic, conscientious viewers would do well to pass. 

“Redeeming Love” hit theaters on Jan 21.

Leah M. Klett is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: [email protected]

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In Theaters

It ends with us.

• Drama , Romance

Content Caution

• August 9, 2024
• Blake Lively as Lily Bloom; Justin Baldoni as Ryle Kincaid; Jenny Slate as Allysa; Hasan Minhaj as Marshall; Brandon Sklenar as Atlas Corrigan; Amy Morton as Jenny Bloom; Kevin McKidd as Andrew Bloom; Isabela Ferrer as Young Lily; Alex Neustaedter as Young Atlas

Home Release Date

• Justin Baldoni

Distributor

• Sony Pictures Releasing

Movie Review

What do you do when someone you love gets hurt?

If the wound is physical, you might try to patch them up or even call an ambulance if the injury is more serious. If the wound is emotional, you might try to understand the problem—to be a shoulder to cry on.

But what if your loved one doesn’t want to share their pain? What if they can’t talk about it?

And what do you do when the one you love, who is obviously hurting, starts to hurt you too?

Do you keep trying to understand? Do you let them patch you up?

Lily doesn’t know. She loves her husband, Ryle. But he keeps hurting her. He claims it was an accident, and he apologizes profusely. But Lily can’t help but wonder:

Was it really an accident? Or is she just conditioned to accept abuse after watching it in her own parents’ abusive marriage?

Positive Elements

[ Note: Spoilers are contained in this section. ]

It Ends with Us takes the stance that abuse in a relationship is unacceptable. But it also sympathizes with victims who are unable, for one reason or another, to leave their abusers. Decisions are made to end the cycle of abuse in Lily’s family. However, nobody here is painted as a monster.

Ryle experienced a severe childhood trauma. It changed him forever. It doesn’t excuse his behavior, but it does explain it. And he eventually recognizes that he needs to get some help and change.

Lily and Ryle’s sister, Allysa, both love Ryle, perhaps even forgiving him. But neither woman can forget the damage that’s been done. They make decisions to protect Lily that ultimately affect Lily and Ryle’s marriage.

Several people reassure a pregnant woman in a bad spot that she’ll be a great mom. That same woman sets boundaries to protect herself and her child. Her husband accepts these boundaries, wanting to protect their child, too.

Flashbacks show a teenage Lily giving food, clothes and other supplies to a homeless classmate, Atlas. The pair eventually falls in love, but circumstances drive the two of them apart. And as adults, Atlas protects Lily and provides a safe place for her to stay after learning about the abuse in her marriage.

Spiritual Elements

Sexual content.

Upon first meeting, Ryle invites Lily to bed. She insists she’s not a “casual sex” person. However, she allows Ryle to “see how far he can get.” Things get very sensual, but before they can even kiss, Ryle is called in to work. (He’s a surgeon.)

The two of them don’t see each other for several months, but when they do, Ryle immediately begins flirting and trying to convince Lily to go to bed with him. Lily declines, not interested in anything but friendship. However, they strip to their underwear and snuggle in bed together. The next day, Ryle asks Lily to date him, indicating that he is ready for a serious relationship based on love, not sex.

After dating for a while, things do turn sexual. We don’t see nudity or the act itself, but close-up camera angles focus on underwear-clad bodies and passionate kisses leading up to sex.

That theme of sensuality continues throughout the film. Female characters often wear formfitting, revealing outfits. Couples kiss frequently. Lily and Ryle eventually marry.

Flashbacks show intense sensuality between a teenage Lily and Atlas. Clothes come off (down to their underwear), and they hop into bed together. Lily tells Atlas she has a condom from health class. The camera cuts before they begin the deed. We hear that this is Lily’s first time but not Atlas’. It’s perhaps implied that Lily doesn’t have another sexual experience until she meets Ryle.

Although Atlas is still in love with Lily as an adult, he never tries to woo her. He urges her to leave Ryle after learning of the abuse, but he recognizes that Lily is in a vulnerable position.

We see a woman’s bare belly and thighs as she gives birth in a hospital. Someone asks a man if he’s interested in men or women. There are jokes about sex workers and pornography.

Violent Content

It Ends with Us, as already mentioned, takes a stance against domestic violence. That said, the film contains quite a bit of this content, so sensitive readers may want to avoid details about that behavior that follow.

Ryle attempts to remove a burning dish from the oven with his bare hands. Lily rushes to stop him, but it’s too late. He drops the dish and burns himself badly. In the commotion, Lily gets hit in the eye hard , and she falls to the ground. Ryle immediately apologizes, falling to the ground himself and cutting his hand on broken glass.

Later, Lily sports a black eye, which she tries to cover up with makeup. Allysa is shocked by her friend’s state but accepts the story that it was an accident. However, when Atlas sees Lily’s eye and Ryle’s bandaged hand, he draws the conclusion that Ryle must have hit Lily. He tells Lily to leave Ryle. And when Ryle learns who Atlas is, the two men get into a fistfight.

A few months later, Atlas visits Lily’s flower shop. He apologizes for the fight but still won’t accept that Lily’s black eye was an accident. He writes his number on a card and hides it in Lily’s phone case, telling her to call him if she ever needs help. Lily insists she won’t, and Atlas hopes it’s true.

Several months after that , Ryle finds the number in Lily’s case after dropping her phone. He smashes a lamp (offscreen) in anger. Lily tries to explain, but Ryle won’t listen. He storms out of their apartment into the stairwell. Lily follows, begging Ryle to come back. Next thing she knows, Lily is lying on her bed with a bleeding cut on her head. Ryle, who is a neurosurgeon, patches her up, telling her she fell down the stairs. However, after checking her for a concussion, he doesn’t take her to the hospital (the audience’s first clue that all may not be as it seems).

The story climaxes after Lily’s flower shop and Atlas’ restaurant are both featured in a “Best of Boston” article. It should have been a time to celebrate Lily’s achievement, but Ryle is overcome with jealousy after reading about Atlas’ restaurant. He realizes that Atlas is still in love with Lily and that the restaurant’s name was inspired by her (even though the two have not had contact since Lily was in high school).

Ryle gets sexually aggressive with Lily, kissing her forcefully as she asks him repeatedly to stop. He pins her down on the couch, still kissing her even as she visibly panics and begs him to stop. He bites her on her collarbone where a tattoo he suspects is related to Atlas is located, drawing blood and bruising her badly.

Lily manages to get away before things progress further. And then flashbacks tell us the whole story. Lily was repressing memories. She didn’t accidentally get knocked in the eye: Ryle smacked her in anger. She didn’t slip down the stairs: Ryle grabbed her and shoved her. Lily remembers the day she met Ryle. He kicked a chair in frustration after a bad surgery. She realizes he has anger problems and has been taking them out on her.

Lily is taken to the hospital by a friend, where she declines a sexual assault forensic exam. Ryle did not rape her or try to, she says. It’s at this juncture that the doctor tells her they don’t want to x-ray the bite mark to check for a broken collarbone because Lily is pregnant.

Lily’s friend briefly mentions the possibility of an abortion, but Lily chooses to keep her baby. And after struggling for months, she finally asks Ryle for a divorce, asking him what he would do if their baby girl came home and told him that her husband had done the same things to her that Ryle had done to Lily.

Further flashbacks throughout the film show that Lily is not the first victim of domestic abuse. Her dad beat her mom frequently. She witnesses it in action. Footage of Ryle pinning down Lily is cut with footage of her dad treating her mom in a similar manner.

Atlas knew about Lily’s parents. He helped her through it. And after Lily’s dad caught the teens in bed, he beat Atlas to within an inch of his life. Lily never saw him again after he was driven away by an ambulance, heavily bleeding.

We learn that when Ryle was 6, he accidentally shot and killed his older brother. He didn’t know the gun was real, but it changed Ryle forever. An adult Ryle tells Lily he was unable to save a boy who was shot in a similar manner.

Atlas tells Lily that when they were kids, he was planning to kill himself. However, Lily’s kindness toward him, giving him food and clothes, changed his mind. He claims she saved his life.

We hear a woman allowed several of her boyfriends to beat her teenage son and that she eventually kicked her son out in favor of one of the boyfriends.

A man asks a woman sitting on the edge of a roof to climb down because she’s making him nervous that she’ll fall.

Crude or Profane Language

There are more than 10 uses of the s-word and a few each of “a–” and “d–n.”

Jesus’ name is abused twice, and God’s name is misused 30 times, three times paired with “d–n.”

Drug and Alcohol Content

People drink and smoke throughout the film, usually at parties.

Other Negative Elements

Lily attends her father’s funeral. However, she’s unable to deliver the eulogy—her mom told Lily to list five things she loved about her dad—because she had a strained relationship with him. She never got over how her dad treated her mom. And Lily resented him after he also beat up the guy she loved. She later admits she didn’t try to make it home before her dad died because she didn’t want to see him.

Lily tells Ryle about her past with Atlas. However, she lies about the origin of a tattoo, which was inspired by Atlas. In the moment, it seems she just wants to keep that part of her life private since Atlas was the only one who knew about her history with her dad. However, when Ryle asks about it again later, she lies again. And this time it seems she’s scared of Ryle’s reaction if he knew the truth.

A homeless teen’s classmates mock him because of his body odor. (He’s unable to shower because of his situation, but his classmates are unsympathetic.)

It Ends with Us should probably come with a trigger warning for victims of domestic abuse—or even children of those victims. This is not an easy film to watch. The themes are sympathetic but incredibly heavy. And viewers who perhaps thought this film was a light romcom should beware: It is anything but.

We witness violence against women at the hands of their spouses. A teenage boy also becomes a victim. And the film explores why one woman chooses to stay with her husband while another struggles with the decision to leave.

It Ends with Us is also incredibly sensual. There’s no nudity, and sex is left largely offscreen. But passionate buildups leave little to the imagination, including some flashbacks to a teenager’s first sexual experience.

Language is perhaps the last big hurdle here. We hear a smattering of profanities across the board, including several uses of the s-word.

Some potential viewers may be interested in what this film has to say about domestic violence. You or someone you know may be searching for answers to the questions I listed at the beginning of this review. But readers, I would urge caution. It Ends with Us doesn’t explore this topic from a Christian perspective. The answers you’re looking for probably won’t be found in this film or the book it’s based on.

And considering the film’s heavy content (both in terms of violence and in sensuality), it’s not even necessarily a film you’d want to watch for entertainment purposes.

If you or someone you know would like to speak with a counselor, call 1-800-A-FAMILY or visit www.focusonthefamily.com/get-help/counseling-services-and-referrals/ .

For more resources about abusive relationships, visit www.focusonthefamily.com/help-for-abusive-relationships/ .

Emily Tsiao

Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.

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