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His Only Son

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David Helling

Daniel da Silva

Nicolas Mouawad

Ottavio Taddei

Edaan Moskowitz

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4 Things You Should Know about His Only Son , Angel Studio's Newest Movie

• Michael Foust CrosswalkHeadlines Contributor
• Updated Apr 04, 2023

Abraham is a hard-working man who loves his wife, his children and his God.

He knows he's blessed. Long ago, God told Abraham his descendants would equal the number of stars in the sky. God even told him that his descendants would live on a bountiful stretch of land and that all the nations of the Earth would be blessed through them.

But now God is asking Abraham to do the unthinkable: to sacrifice his son Isaac on an altar in Moriah, a land that will take three days to reach.

Abraham weeps at the thought. Yet he also begins preparing for the grueling trip.

"The Lord commands it," Abraham tells his wife.

The new film His Only Son (PG-13) follows the Old Testament story of Abraham, Issac and Sarah.

Here are four things you should know about it:

Photo courtesy: ©Angel Studios, used with permission.

1. It's From the Studio Behind The Chosen

His Only Son is being distributed by the same company, Angel Studios, that brought us The Chosen and The Wingfeather Saga,  two well-done and popular projects. It received an impressive 72 percent rating from the Angel Guild – the 64,000 Angel Studios crowd funders who "review and greenlight creator projects," according to a news release.

Angel Studios crowdfunded the marketing and advertising budget, which was more than $1 million. The crowdfunding was "historic," director David Helling told Crosswalk.

"It totally blew away their expectations," he said. "We made the full cap of what they were wanting to raise in a little over 80 hours."

2. It's a 'Controversial' Story of Obedience

"It's such a confusion-inducing or contention-inducing account from Scripture with non-believers in conversations I've had over the years," Helling told Crosswalk.

His Only Son handles the subject well as it follows the biblical text and tackles a few questions – with plausible scenarios – that Scripture doesn't fully answer: What was Isaac's reaction in learning he was the one to be sacrificed? Was he obedient? The final 15 minutes of the film are the best media rendition of the story I've ever seen.

Helling believes the film can serve as a form of apologetics and education.

"[God] had a purpose in testing Abraham in this way and in setting this example – this memorial stone of sorts – that people could look back on for 2000 years from the time of Abraham to the time of Christ," he said.

3. It's the Story of Abraham's Life

The story opens with God telling Abraham to sacrifice Isaac and closes with the angel intervening in the sacrifice. The rest of the film follows Abraham, Isaac and two servants as they travel to Mt. Moriah, the site of the sacrifice. Through flashbacks, we also see scenes from Abraham's life: his witnessing of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, his learning that his descendants will be given a new land, and his being told that he and his wife Sarah will have a child at an old age. The film also confronts the difficult subject of Sarah giving her servant, Hagar, to Abraham as a child bearer. ("Perhaps through her I will bear children," a weeping Sarah tells a surprised Abraham. The family-friendly film does not include any bedroom scenes.)

The film portrays Abraham as obedient and full of grace. Told by Sarah that he should not travel several days to build an altar in Mt. Moriah, he tells her, "It is not my decision to make." Told by a servant that Sodom is filled with wicked people, Abraham responds, "We are no different when we go our own way." Told that he may be worshiping the wrong god, Abraham responds, "There is no other God."

4. It Points to Christ

The story of Abraham and Isaac is not a traditional Easter story, Helling acknowledged, but it has Easter-centric themes. God is "showing us these hints all throughout the Old Testament" about Jesus, he said.

"The Old Testament narrative is Christ's narrative," he added.

His Only Son has an authentic, ancient Middle Eastern look and feel. The landscapes are dusty. The people are dirty (as they should be after walking for three straight days). Nicolas Mouawad, a Lebanese film and TV actor, portrays Abraham, while Tehran-born Sara Sayed portrays Sarah. Both are solid.

The script stays true to Scripture even as it takes artistic license for those in-between-the-verses scenes. It's a thought-provoking film with more than a few powerful scenes. At about 90 minutes in length, the film is not too long, not too short.

His Only Son is another impressive addition to the Angel Studios library.

His Only Son is rated PG-13 for thematic content and some violence.

Entertainment rating : 4 out of 5 stars.

Family-friendly rating : 4 out of 5 stars.

Photo courtesy: ©Angel Studios, 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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• DVD & Streaming

His Only Son

• Biography/History , Christian , Drama

Content Caution

In Theaters

• March 31, 2023
• Nicolas Mouawad as Abraham; Sara Seyed as Sarah; Edaan Moskowitz as Isaac; Ottavio Taddei as Kelzar; Alonso Vaya as Eshcolam

Home Release Date

• May 5, 2023
• David Helling

Distributor

• Angel Studios

Movie Review

Abraham had waited so very long.

The one and true Creator had called him out of his former life to live something of a wanderer’s existence when Abraham was not long past his 70th year. But that wandering, Abraham was assured, had purpose. God promised He would make him the beginning of a great nation and bless him. But even more important, God promised Abraham and his wife Sarah a son.

But that was so many years before. So many, in fact, that Sarah gave up hope because of her advancing age. She even pushed Abraham to lay with her maid, Hagar, as a means of bringing forth that progeny.

Despite this lapse of faith, however, the Almighty did eventually—in His own time—give the couple the son they so longed for. They called the boy Isaac, a name derived from the word “laughter,” expressing Abraham’s joy at having a son in his old age.

That, however, was not the end of their story. God still had much to teach, much to give, to require, to … take.

One quiet night, somewhere in Abraham’s 130 th year, God’s spirit met Abraham and told him to proceed to Mount Moriah—a trek of some three days—to make a sacrifice.

In spite of his advanced age, Abraham was more than happy to obey. But it was the second part of the command that set the old man back on his heels. For God required a specific sacrifice: He required that Abraham sacrifice … his son.

He must bind the young man, spill his blood on the top of that distant mountain and offer him as a burnt offering. He must give back the laughter that Abraham had waited so long for.

But if there was nothing else that this old man of God had learned over the many years and Abraham’s many failures, it was that the Creator’s promises were to be believed. His word was true. It was just.

So, Abraham gathered his supplies and called forth his son. For they would travel together and serve God

After waiting so long, Abraham now had only three days left.

Positive Elements

It’s plain to see that Abraham and Sarah love one another. And when Sarah gives her maid, Hagar, to her husband as a “second wife,” she initially does so as a way to, in her mind, show him love and honor God’s promise. (Though later, she realizes that she is very bitter about not having a child of her own and she becomes jealous of Hagar.)

Ultimately God illustrates to both Sarah and Abraham that their impatience was foolish. In spite of that failing, Abraham does his best to remain faithful to God and show his wife love.

Spiritual Elements

When seen from a distance, Abraham’s story can be interpreted as God’s call to mankind to remain patient and trust in His promises. And His Only Son goes beyond that to make a direct connection between Abraham’s called-upon (but suspended) sacrifice and God’s plan to sacrifice His son, Jesus, as a covering for the sins of the world.

Throughout the film, Abraham meets sporadically with glowing individuals who represent a heavenly personage and impart God’s will to him. We see God offering a covenant and Abraham struggling to stand strong and always trust God’s word (despite long passages of time).

While on their journey to Mount Moriah, Abraham and Isaac are accompanied by two other men who give them aid. But they have questions about why God is calling for this sacrifice on a distant mountaintop. One of them, Esh, wonders if it is to earn God’s favor. But Abraham replies that God’s favor cannot be earned. He tells the man of the vast chasm between sinful men and the holy God. “Only He can bridge that gap,” Abraham declares. “I saw myself as I really was: Worthless apart from his grace.”

Esh also notes that “to trek so far seems like an act of penance.” And Abraham remembers back to when Sarah gave him Hagar as a second wife. And it’s clear that perhaps Abraham believes that their journey may be a sort of penance as well. In fact, that distrust of God’s timing turns out to be a major stumbling block for Sarah’s faith and peace of mind, even though she was the one who forced the issue with her maid.

We see Sarah weeping and praying to have a child. But she is praying to “stones and the moon,” an idol worship that Abraham quickly puts an end to.

A moment of peril and danger drives Abraham to remember something Sarah once said to him: “If all your hopes were dashed upon the rocks and all that you loved was lost, would your faith still stand? Or would you curse God?” And Abraham declares that he would not waver.

Abraham prays repeatedly. And in one instance he asks that God take his life and spare his son’s.

Abraham talks with Isaac about several issues and both men ask the rhetoric question, “Is anything too difficult for the Lord?” Later, when they reach Mount Moriah, Abraham admits the truth of God’s request to his son. “We must have faith that our God—the giver and taker of life—has the power to give life again,” he tells his son. Isaac is obviously shaken by what is being asked of him, but he gives himself over to the altar with words that mirror those of Jesus: “Not my will, but His be done,” Isaac states bravely.

“Now I know that you fear God,” the Almighty says as he stays Abraham’s knife hand. “Since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”

During one of his visions, Abraham sees a representation of the holy Trinity. And we’re shown Jesus on the cross, about 2,000 years after the events of Abraham’s life. A Roman centurion kneels and proclaims his faith in the Son of God.

Sexual Content

Sarah makes it plain that she wants Abraham to take her maid as a second wife. And though he at first refuses, Sarah convinces him that it may indeed be God’s will. “Not only has He led you to a barren land, He has made your wife barren as well.”

We never see any physical interactions between Abraham and Hagar, but we do see her pregnant. And we see the look of disdain she has in her eyes when looking upon Sarah.

While Abraham and his group are traveling, they come upon a small tent occupied by harlots. A guy starts to bargain for the women’s services, but Abraham walks past without a word or glance.

Violent Content

In their travels, Abraham, Isaac and their two servants encounter a group of riders who threaten them and search their things for payment to travel the road they’re on. After finding nothing of value in their sacks, they move on. Later, Abraham’s group encounter a dying and bloody man lying by the side of the road. The injured man reports that his daughter was stolen away, before dying.

The riders show up again after that, dragging a young woman behind one of their horses. They say that since the beaten girl “is used goods now” they might take Isaac instead. A conflict arises and both Isaac and Abraham are wounded and beaten to the ground before the men leave. (The two are lightly bloodied and Isaac is held with a sword at his throat.)

In the course of their journey, Abraham has horrible dreams of raising his knife to sacrifice Isaac. And once they reach the mountain top, he binds his son, lays him on the altar and repeats his dream’s action … before being stopped by God’s voice.

A rider recounts the story of a younger Abraham taking a group of shepherds into battle with an army and leading his rabble group to victory. Abraham returns to Sarah after being gone for a few days, covered in blood. The elder Abraham must knock down an attacking young man with his staff.

Crude or Profane Language

Drug and alcohol content, other negative elements.

As mentioned, Sarah has several moments of doubt, declaring that God has given Abraham nothing but an “inheritance of dead land” and “famine.”

Abraham is, of course, an incredibly important figure in God’s story of redemption. That isn’t because he led a perfect life. Like all of us, he was flawed. But he was a man of faith; a man who maintained hope in God’s promise.

His Only Son portrays this sense of enduring trust and hope extremely well. It’s an emotional film that readily helps viewers connect Abraham’s many-faceted story to God’s sacrificial plan for our atonement.

The only real drawback here is the director’s choice to have a younger actor play the elder Abraham, who was well over 100 when called upon to make his momentous trek to Mount Moriah. The truth is, there is solemnity and grace in true age—especially when the aged are faced with struggling for godly insight—and that’s extremely difficult to portray on screen, no matter how much makeup is worn.

That said, this is still a solid film designed to give believers and unbelievers alike some thoughtful biblical insights for the Easter season.

After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.

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His only son.

• Parents say (10)
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Based on 10 parent reviews

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Would not see again., god is the most important, wow, incredibly beautiful and touching, unique biblical film, his only son is an emotional, theologically-sound movie, yes, go watch, definitely emotional walking the steps of abraham., his only son.

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'His Only Son' is a worthy, if imperfect, portrayal of God's love

Nicolas Mouawad (Abraham) and Edaan Moskowitz (Isaac) begin their journey to Moriah in "His Only Son," which retells the well-known story from the Book of Genesis. (NCR screenshot/YouTube)

by Elizabeth Hamilton

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Few figures in the Bible, and indeed the history of Western thought, loom as large as Sarah and Abraham from the Book of Genesis. Abraham's willingness to sacrifice their son Isaac has inspired the imaginations of artists throughout the ages, from Caravaggio and Rembrandt, who each famously painted the scene, to the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, who crafted an influential interpretation of the sacrifice in Fear and Trembling . The story is among the most controversial and well-known in the Bible, evoking disgust, befuddlement, inspiration and rich theological exegesis alike. To capture the grand ethos of this tale in a 90-minute movie is a challenge, to say the least.

If any group could surmount the challenge, it's Angel Studios , the crowdfunded media agency responsible for " The Chosen ," that beloved — and wildly successful — series about Jesus and his followers. Tackle the story they did — to a debatable degree of success. "His Only Son," a feature debut from director David Helling, appeared in select theaters on March 31 and will soon be available to stream on Angel Studios.

Most of "His Only Son" takes place immediately after God commands Abraham (played with finesse by the Lebanese actor Nicolas Mouawad) to sacrifice Isaac (played by up-and-coming Israeli American actor Edaan Moskowitz), during the physically treacherous and emotionally tumultuous three-day journey to Moriah.

Interspersed throughout Helling's interpretation of the journey are flashbacks that show the "greatest hits" of Abraham's life. Here is God commanding Abraham to reject polytheism and worship God alone. Here is God promising Abraham his descendants will be as numerous as the stars. Here is an agitated Sarah (played by Iranian actress and activist Sara Seyed) urging Abraham to have a child with her maidservant, Hagar. And here, at long last, is the birth of Isaac to his now grey-haired mother. 

Despite man's confusion, God was — and is — always present. None of us are ever truly alone.    " target="_blank">Tweet this

The movie is almost a scene for scene account of Genesis 12 through 22, and it's impressive how much attention to detail went into the script. Sunday school teachers in search of a visually accurate portrayal of Father Abraham need look no farther than "His Only Son." Christians hoping for a film about the Bible that might interest their secular friends — like, say, "The Chosen" — may need to think again.

It's difficult to get past the movie's visual blunders — the sepia hue, the overuse of slow motion, and the stage makeup that does not quite convince viewers of old age (at the birth of Isaac, Sarah is supposed to be older than 90 years old, but she looks no more than 40). Then there is the portrayal of God. How does one successfully convey on screen what it's like to commune with humanity's Creator?

It may not be possible to do so — which again speaks to the enormous challenge at the heart of this film — but a shimmery, white-robed man with a pleasant, echoing accent is probably not the best way to go. The movie tries to make Abraham's faith in God's promises inspiring — but it's difficult to feel inspired by a man willing to kill his own son. And it's difficult to find oneself swept away by the drama of a story when we know how it ends.

That said, what shines in "His Only Son" is its humanness. Sarah, Abraham and Isaac — those giants of Genesis — are made small by the big screen. There are dangerous horsemen and a burning city and hallucinogenic visions, yes, but this is not Darren Aronofsky's " Noah ."

Sara Seyed portrays Sarah, Abraham's wife and Isaac's mother in "His Only Son." (NCR screenshot/YouTube)

Abraham's world is ordinary. His people are shepherds. His land is a bunch of small, bare and windy hills. He and his wife try, and fail, and try again to understand God's enigmatic promises. They wait decades for a child. They hurt vulnerable people (namely, Hagar and Ishmael). They are long-suffering.

In this way, despite the story occurring 4,000 years ago, the movie uncovers a relatable tale. Who among us is unfamiliar with praying to God, and then waiting years on end for an answer that makes sense, that seems good? Who among us has not received something we wanted only to have it snatched away? Who among us has not wondered how to remain faithful amidst endless, unfulfilled longing?

Toward the end of the movie, a distraught Abraham says, "Whatever he's doing in all this, whatever he's trying to teach, whatever he's trying to show, I'm lost." Haven’t we all been there? "His Only Son" serves as a reminder that even the greatest, most faithful figures in the Bible were mere humans who suffered and struggled to fathom God's will. And despite man's confusion, God was — and is — always present. None of us are ever truly alone.

"His Only Son" further uncomplicates the sacrifice of Isaac by providing a standard, straightforward interpretation: the story prefigures the crucifixion of Christ. Both subtle and blunt allusions to the cross are sprinkled throughout the movie, including a tender moment when Abraham breaks bread while speaking about the meaning of sacrifice, and the final scene, which flashes forward 2,000 years to give us a glimpse of Christ on Golgotha.

In perhaps the most moving scene, Abraham begs God to take his life instead of Isaac's. Staring into Abraham's troubled face, one catches a glimpse of both the pain and unfathomable love God the Father must have felt when Jesus was crucified.

God's sacrificial love is the center of the Christian faith. And yet, we can easily become inured to this love, to this story. "His Only Son" invites us to remember. The movie is not perfect. But the message at its heart — the reminder of God's love — is good.

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If we were to sit down and talk about the most challenging stories of the Old Testament, it is most certain that the story of Abraham and Isaac would be near the top of the list of those stories difficult to fathom. It's that story that's brought to life in  His Only Son,  a feature film opening in theaters on March 31st from Angel Studios. 

His Only Son  gives us what many consider to be one of the Old Testament's most controversial moments - when Abraham, here portrayed by Nicolas Mouawad, is commanded by God to sacrifice his son Isaac (Edaan Moskowitz) on the mountain of Moriah. It is during his journey to this place that Abraham, accompanied by two servants and Isaac, is flooded with the memories from years alongside his wife Sarah (Sara Seyed) longing for the son they were promised and that he is now called to lay upon the altar. 

After several short films, writer/director David Helling tackles one of biblical history's most challenging passages with vivid imagery and a desire to dig deeper into the story.  His Only Son  attempts to reflect upon some of the questions Christians have asked for years - Why would the Lord require such a sacrifice? Can we still truly stand in our faith when we're asked to give everything? 

His Only Son  examines mankind's relationship to God and practically demands that the viewer turn inward to ask ourselves how we would respond to such a command. 

Rated PG-13, a bit of a rarity for faith-based cienma,  His Only Son  explores mature thematic content with honesty yet remains both faithful to scripture and accessible to families. Younger and more sensitive children will undoubtedly have questions, though these same children are likely to be captivated by a color palette that mesmerizes and an adventurous production design by Jason Stebbings alongside Nick Walker's lensing and Jordain Wallace's original score. 

Helling also aims for a diverse cast including Lebanese film and TV actor Nicholas Mouawad as Abraham, Edaan Moskowitz in his feature film debut as Isaac, and relative newcomer Sara Seyed as Sarah. Here as The Lord, Daniel da Silva has previously played Jesus twice in cinema and adds tremendous gravitas here. 

Angel Studios is the team behind  The Chosen, His Only Son  being an intentional effort to expand their vivid biblical storytelling into the world of feature films and indie cinema. 

Set to open in theaters on March 31st,  His Only Son  will most resonate with those who long for dramatically realized biblical stories that don't serve up the usual Hollywood artistic compromise. While the film won't likely appeal to a crossover audiences, Christians who've ever wanted to dig deeper into the story of Abraham and Isaac will find much to appreciate here. 

Written by Richard Propes The Independent Critic

Minnesota's Local Source for Film Music and Reviews

Review: His Only Son (2023)

His only son (2023).

Directed by: David Helling

Premise: A dramatization of the Biblical story of Abraham (Nicolas Mouawad) who was commanded by God to sacrifice his son Isaac (Edaan Moskowitz) to prove his faith.

What Works: The story of Abraham and his immediate family is one of a man holding onto his faith in the face of hardship and that is the most compelling aspect of this movie. God appears before Abraham and commands a human sacrifice and Abraham spends the next three days walking with his son, knowing all the while that he will sacrifice the boy at the end of the journey. That makes for an interesting tension that is at odds with the warm and fuzzy style of a lot of religious pictures. While on their journey, the film flashes back years earlier to Abraham and his wife Sarah (Sara Seyed) and their struggle to make their way in a desolate land and conceive a child. The scenes between Abraham and Sarah are many of the best scenes in the movie. His Only Son also has an effective atmosphere. The filmmakers create a vivid impression of the difficulty of life at this time and the sparse and arid conditions in which these people live.

What Doesn’t: His Only Son is hampered by pacing problems and a verbose script. The film includes some very long exposition scenes in which the characters debate the merits of faith and sacrifice. This material is relevant to the subject matter but the writing and the execution are flat. These dialogue exchanges are filmed and edited in a shot-reverse shot style that is repetitive and often boring especially given the length of some of these scenes. The two most critical moments of His Only Son are not executed effectively. The film opens with God commanding Abraham to sacrifice his son and the scene is staged clumsily. The moment doesn’t have a dramatic shape and God’s command doesn’t have an impact. The moment of sacrifice is also poorly staged with the filmmakers failing to get much tension out of the climax. His Only Son ’s dramatic shortcomings may be partly rooted in its presumptions about the audience. This was a movie made for an audience who would presumably already be familiar with the Biblical story but that’s no excuse for botching the dramatic beats. The filmmakers also tend to spell out the religious meaning especially with the overuse of Biblical quotes that appear on screen throughout the end of the picture.

Bottom Line: His Only Son will speak to its intended audience and the filmmakers have a thoughtful take on this Biblical story. The film’s dramatic fumbles undermine the potential of the material.

Episode: #943 (April 9, 2023)

His Only Son

Where to Watch

Daniel da Silva (The Lord) Nicolas Mouawad (Abraham) Sara Seyed (Sarah) Luis Fernandez-Gil (Eliezer) Ottavio Taddei (Kelzar) Edaan Moskowitz (Isaac) Veritaz Obscurex (Eshcolam) Kevin Kapellas (Lead Horseman) Steve Judkins (Comrade) Nathan Tetreault (Comrade)

David Helling

After being called on by the Lord, Abraham's faith is tested on his three day journey to sacrifice his son.

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His Only Son

Film synopsis.

His Only Son is the first feature-length film chronicling one of the most controversial moments in all of scripture--when the Lord God gave Abraham the ultimate test by commanding him to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, on the mountain of Moriah. Answering age-old questions as to why the Lord would require such a sacrifice, His Only Son profoundly explores mankind's relationship to God and encourages viewers to turn inward and ask: Can your faith still stand when you are asked to give everything?

Release Date

March 31, 2023

David Helling

Michael Thomas Kaney II

Roman Medjanov

Distributor

Nicolas Mouawad

Edaan Moskowitz

Dan da Silva

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‘A cold place to have a premiere’: Angel Studios debuts ‘His Only Son’ in Utah

‘his only son’ details the story of abraham and isaac, but with other parallels.

By Hanna Seariac

VINEYARD — “Utah is a cold place to have a premiere,” joked Angel Studios co-founder Neal Harmon. Rain drizzled outside on Wednesday as the film “His Only Son” was shown for the first time on the big screen to Angel Studios investors and donors alongside media personalities.

Walking into the Vineyard Megaplex, there was something that you don’t often see at red carpet premieres — some families were in attendance together. As everyone made their way into the theater, there was lots of buzz about “The Chosen” and speculation about what “His Only Son” — releasing in around 2,000 theaters on March 31 — would be like.

The film opened with a message from director David Helling , discussing the origins of the movie. He said that since his conversion to Christianity while serving active duty in the Marines, his passion has been bringing scripture to life. He told the audience to temper their expectations, as the film had a budget of a quarter of a million dollars compared to the typical $50 million Hollywood films have. But, he said, $250,000 can go a long way.

“His Only Son” details the story of Abraham (Nicolas Mouawad) and Isaac (Edaan Moskowitz). In Genesis 22 , God commands Abraham to sacrifice Isaac at Moriah. Eventually, as the story goes, Abraham is told to not go forward with the sacrifice and that it was a test. It only spans 18 verses in the chapter, so to make into a feature-length film required a lot of creative reimagining.

Full disclosure — spoilers are ahead.

The film was shot in the middle of the California desert during summer 2019. Daniel de Silva, who has worked with Helling on other projects, said that the location of filming transported him in his mind back to ancient times. He recalled that when he first arrived on set, after driving hours in the middle of nowhere, he went inside Abraham’s tent and said that it even smelled like he thought an ancient tent would smell like.

Setting the events of Genesis 22 as parallel with earlier biblical narratives of how Abram and Sarai became Abraham and Sarah, as well as Sarai’s struggles with infertility, Hagar and the Abrahamic covenant, the film has multiple storylines woven throughout. One theme that ties them together was the difficulty of understanding why God would withhold certain blessings or ask certain things of the family.

Abraham is pensive during the film. Even though Isaac doesn’t know what’s happening, there are close-up shots of Abraham throughout that indicate Abraham’s own emotional struggles with the theophany and command to sacrifice Isaac. Lebanese actor Nicolas Mouawad played Abraham and said that he wanted to portray Abraham as a human being.

Mouawad emphasized that he was in awe of Abraham, but had noticed that some films portray biblical characters more as superheroes than human beings. Throughout his performance, he said he tried to remember that Abraham “is a man who loved God and had a son.” He said that he let that guide his performance.

One of the two young men who accompanies Abraham and Isaac on their three-day journey to Moriah peppers Abraham with difficult questions. In the film, Abraham doesn’t shy away from the questions, even as the young man expresses anger directly to him. That’s one of several examples of how the film goes beyond the biblical text and reconstructs potential storylines and emotions that characters would experience.

Sarai, played by Sara Seyed, for example, doesn’t have much known about her emotional struggles with infertility in the biblical narrative, but in the film, it becomes a central point.

The film is decidedly a Christian take on the story of Abraham and Isaac. Watching closely, there’s imagery of an open tomb, white stones, broken bread, rushing water and other image cues that could remind the audience of Jesus. Other phrases like “death is the penalty for sin” seem to be borrowing from the later text of Romans 6:23 and acts as a verbal cue to remember Jesus.

When Abraham is told to stop sacrificing Isaac and that God will provide a ram, a ram belts out in the background before the scene switches to Jesus on the cross. De Silva said being on the cross for this end scene was the most difficult part of filming. A centurion knelt in front of Jesus and said, “Truly, this was the son of God.”

The final scene is the culmination of parallels between the story of Abraham attempting to sacrifice Isaac and the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Scholars have teased out similarities between these two sacrificial narratives before, and Helling tries to draw these out in the film. Jesus dies at the exact same location as the altar Abraham and Isaac built at Moriah.

Helling said that he did that because some have said that Jesus died at Moriah and he believes that Abraham attempted to sacrifice Isaac in the same spot that Jesus died. When asked about the historical research he did for the film, Helling said that a lot of the film was directed by prayer and that he’s looked into the anthropological and archaeological record.

In the context of Christian entertainment, the film seems to veer implicitly towards a Christian audience due to the symbolism throughout. When de Silva was asked to sum up the film in one word, he said “belief.” His response encapsulates what seems to be the central focus on the film, comparing Abraham and Isaac’s story with the story of Jesus.

More so on the technical side of the film, the group did a lot with being on a shoestring budget. It takes place entirely outside in the desert and on the mountains. The costumes are typical of biblical productions (and done well), and the cinematography focused on connecting the audience with emotions of the characters, especially Abraham.

The cinematography also concentrated on how to send visual cues to the audience that they should reflect on Jesus when watching the film. The flashbacks to earlier times of Abraham’s life run into the contemporaneous plot of the film as well as what happens around 2,000 years after Abraham. Since the timing can feel blurry due to the way it’s filmed, that also seems to be the goal.

Helling said that he felt driven to make the film to give believers a response to skeptics about the Abraham story and because he wanted to show these parallels. That was apparent in the plot as well as the cinematography.

If you’d like to see the film in theaters, it premieres nationwide on March 31. Angel Studios provides audience-driven (i.e. crowdfunded) entertainment and “His Only Son” also fell into that category. The distribution of the film in theaters was made possible due to investors.

Linda's Lunacy

Faith, Home, & Family

His Only Son Movie Review & Giveaway

March 24, 2023 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

I’m excited to bring you this His Only Son movie review & giveaway!

Angel Studios, who brought you The Chosen, is releasing a new film, His Only Son. For the first time in a feature film, the controversial account of Abraham and Isaac will be brought to life, one that everyone can draw inspiration from.

His Only Son Movie Review & Giveaway

His Only Son recounts one of the most controversial moments in the Old Testament—when Abraham was commanded by God to sacrifice his son Isaac on the mountain of Moriah. While traveling to the place of the sacrifice, alongside Isaac and two servants, Abraham is flooded with vivid memories from the years he and Sarah spent longing for the son they were promised—the son he must now lay upon the altar.

His Only Son Movie Review

His Only Son starts out with Abraham telling Sarah that God told him to go make a sacrifice. She didn’t like the fact that he would have to travel, because travel in that time period was dangerous. But when he told her that he was taking Isaac with him. she was very, very against it. As you would imagine. So course, she tried to talk him out of going, but he insisted that God told him to go and he was going AND taking Isaac with him.

And, yes, there is danger along the way on their trip. From soldiers for the king, to a servant trying to take matters into his own hands.

His Only Son

Along the way, Abraham has flashbacks to everything that led up to this point. When God told him that He would make Abraham a great nation. All the pain that Sarah felt from not being able to have a baby. What happened when Sarah gave her maid Hagar to Abraham, and the tension that created in their relationship.

When Abraham and Isaac finally get to Moriah, Isaac asks his father where the lamb is for the sacrifice. “The Lord will provide the lamb.” Isaac had no reason to not trust or believe his father. When they get up on the mountain, and Abraham tells his precious son what God told him to do. Isaac does question why God would tell his father to do this.

Abraham was right. God did provide a lamb for the sacrifice.

The movie than fast forwards 2,000 years. Then we see 3 crosses and another “His only son”. And a Roman guard saying this man was the son of God. The movie ends with the Bible verse John 3:16 on the screen.

His Only Son is a very well done movie. The whole family can watch this movie. A couple of scenes are a little intense, so young, or sensitive, children may have a hard time with them.

Overall, though, His Only Son is a great family movie. We can see that what God promises, He will fulfill. That He is always there watching over us, protecting us, and providing for us. An awesome message for us all!

Watch the His Only Son movie trailer:

Buy tickets today to see His Only Son in theaters March 31st!

For more information about His Only son, visit the website .

Buy your tickets HERE to see His Only Son!

Angel Studios wants to keep making more films like His Only Son, working their way through the Old Testament stories. The more people that support their movies, by spreading the word, by going to see His Only Son in the theater, the more movies they will be able to make!

The Giveaway

Enter to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card! Simply fill out the Rafflecopter form below to enter! Giveaway open to US, ends 4/4.

Check out my other faith based movie and tv reviews !

*Disclosure: Many thanks to Angel Studios for providing a sample of the product for this review. (I watched an online screener) Opinions are 100% my own.

March 24, 2023 at 3:50 pm

I Can Only Imagine and Hops just to name a few!! His Only Son looks like a wonderful emotional movie!! Thank you!

March 24, 2023 at 6:24 pm

March 24, 2023 at 9:02 pm

I like to watch Here Comes Peter Cottontail.

March 25, 2023 at 10:30 am

I like to watch the Johnny Depp movie “Chocolat” on Easter.

March 25, 2023 at 1:41 pm

I don’t have one, but sometimes will watch Passion of the Christ.

March 25, 2023 at 4:27 pm

March 25, 2023 at 6:22 pm

No favourite movies at Easter.

March 26, 2023 at 8:20 am

I like to watch It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown! (1974)

March 26, 2023 at 8:27 pm

I don’t have a favorite.

March 26, 2023 at 9:00 pm

March 27, 2023 at 12:48 am

I sometimes watch Risen during the Easter season.

March 27, 2023 at 4:29 pm

We have enjoyed The Chosen series.

March 28, 2023 at 7:47 am

I love watching Peter Rabbit.

March 28, 2023 at 12:20 pm

I like to watch the Passion of the Christ.

March 28, 2023 at 10:51 pm

No favorite, just watch whatever I can stream or is live at the time.

March 29, 2023 at 1:58 pm

My favorite movie to watch during easter is Hop

March 30, 2023 at 1:54 am

March 30, 2023 at 10:42 am

My grand kids love Winnie The Pooh: Springtime With Roo!!

March 31, 2023 at 12:26 am

The Ten Commandments.

April 4, 2023 at 7:59 pm

My favorite Easter movie to this day is the Ten Commandments. I watched it growing up and now that I am in my 50’s I still enjoy it.

Enjoy this blog? Please spread the word :)

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Netflix’s ‘The Son’ Ending Explained: Did Nicholas Die?

Where to stream:.

• The Son (2022)
• Hugh Jackman

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First premiering in 2022, The Son is an emotional drama that features a controversial and twisty ending. The movie is a prequel to Florian Zeller’s The Father , which won the Academy Award for Best Actor and Best Adapted Script, and follows two divorced parents as they struggle to care for their teenager. The emotional movie recently found its way to Netflix on May 20, 2023 after a limited theatrical release and world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival. 

The drama flick stars Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern , Vanessa Kirby and newcomer Zen McGrath, along with a brief cameo by Anthony Hopkins , who led the predecessor. As of now, the movie is climbing Netflix’s Top 10 charts after failing to garner attention during its theatrical release and subsequent awards cycle.

As there are many new eyes watching this flick, we’re here to break down the ending — which many critics dubbed “emotionally manipulative.” However, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure — and boy, do I think the movie offers an ending for the ages. Here’s everything you need to know about the ending of The Son .

The Son on Netflix Ending Explained:

The Son follows Peter Miller (Jackman) as he welcomes his teenage son, Nicholas Miller (McGrath), into his blended home, which he shares with his wife Beth (Kirby) and their newly-born child. Beforehand, Nicholas lived with his mother, Kate Miller (Dern), but she asked Peter to take him in because his behavior was unmanageable and she was fearful of his aggression.

Nicholas, while a studious child, shows no interest in school or socializing and is battling major depression. His father finds himself in unfamiliar territory. He works hard to discipline his son and understand his withdrawn behavior. Additionally, Beth grows untrusting of Nicholas and restricts his alone time with his baby brother and, once, suspects him of stealing her jewelry. Needless to say, Nicholas is not receiving the support he needs. 

His father has an outburst after figuring out that Nicholas has been skipping school and the young boy attempts suicide. He is placed in an inpatient facility and during supervised visits, he begs his parents to sign him out, insisting that he’s recovered. Peter and Kate are heavily advised to not take Nicholas out of the facility, but they cave into his demands and do so anyway. 

The final moments of the movie are highly emotional and show Nicholas and his parents spending time together, which is a rare occurrence. They arrive at Peter’s home from the institution and Nicholas dots around, making them tea. The parents plan to constantly supervise the teenager with Kate agreeing to let Nicholas move back to her house and Peter deciding to turn down his promotion and have Nicholas join him at work as an intern.

In the final moments, Nicholas delivers tea to his parents and then joins them on the couch. They plan to see a movie, and Nicholas apologizes to his parents and they exchange “I love yous.” The teen excuses himself to take a shower but ventures into the laundry room where Peter keeps a gun, which was established earlier in the movie to be a gift from his father. Nicholas uses the gun to shoot himself dead.

But here’s where it gets confusing. Before it is revealed that Nicholas is dead, the movie has a flashback scene of Peter teaching Nicholas how to swim, which segues into a dream sequence where Peter pictures his son alive. As an unreliable narrator, Peter pictures Nicholas as the author of a book called Death Can Wait . He tells Nicholas, “I’m proud of you,” and looks him in the eyes as they stand across from each other.

Then, the camera pans and shows Peter standing alone in a room. His wife enters and asks him, “What’s the matter? Were you thinking about Nicholas?” As Peter expresses his regrets, Beth reassures him, “You did the best you could at the time.” He breaks down crying while his wife tells him “life goes on.”

The Son is currently streaming on Netflix.

If you or someone you know are experiencing suicidal thoughts, call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 988.

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Kevin Costner defends giving his son, 15, acting debut in new movie

Actor denied ‘automatically’ giving children roles in films, article bookmarked.

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Kevin Costner has defended casting his son in his new self-financed passion project film Horizon: An American Saga .

Costner’s 15-year-old son, Hayes, appears in the two-part film as a character named Hayes Ellison, who plays Sienna Miller’s on-screen son.  Horizon is a four-part Western drama spanning the 15 years pre and post the American Civil War , written, directed and starred in by Costner.

The Yellowstone Actor , who previously said he cast his son so they could spend more time together , has denied the idea that he automatically gives parts to his children.

“[Hayes] had never acted before and I don’t automatically give parts to my children because I know how coveted this is,” Costner told Metro.co.uk .

Seemingly aware of the discourse surrounding nepotism babies – children of successful parents who are given a leg-up in life – Costner said he didn’t want his children to take up roles that other people dream of.

“There’s young people that would do anything to have a part in a movie, and I want those kids to emerge. My children, if they’re not interested in the business, I’m not going to automatically give them something because I know there’s other people that this is a dream for.”

He continued: “I’m also a father and it was a part that wasn’t that long – and I wanted him to be close to me. I was away from home, I needed my family close to me, and it was a way for me to trap him. I thought he was just beautiful in the movie.”

The actor revealed that the connection between his son and the film runs deeper than the casting, and that he named his son after the character he conceived long ago.

“I had trouble making this movie, but for whatever reason I kept the name Hayes – [it] was part of my journey that I wasn’t going to let go this character, Hayes Ellison,” he explained.

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“I started this in 1988 and I couldn’t make it, but I wouldn’t fall out of love with it. I don’t know what that says about me, but I couldn’t fall out of love with Hayes, and so 15 years ago I just named my son Hayes because I couldn’t let go of it.”

The Yellowstone star shares three adult children – Annie, 39, Lily, 37, and Joe, 36 – with his ex-wife Cindy Silva, as well as son Liam, 26, with former partner Bridget Rooney. He and his ex-wife Christine Baumgartner share three children: Cayden Wyatt, 15, Hayes Logan, 15, and Grace Avery, 13.

After premiering at Cannes Film Festival , Horizon part one has been mauled by critics, with one calling it th e “dullest cinematic vanity project” .

“The film moseys blankly along and, aside from some mildly diverting moments, it spends 180 keeping you guessing as to when and whether it is going to be interesting,” wrote Peter Bradshaw in his two-star review for The Guardian .

The Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney called the film “a clumsy slog beyond saving”, adding: “It plays like a limited series overhauled as a movie, but more like a hasty rough cut than a release ready for any format.”

Costner has revealed he mortgaged one of his four properties in order to fund the movie, and is on track to spend $98m of his own money on the first three movies. By the time he’s done with the fourth, he said he will have surpassed $100m.

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 will debut in cinemas on 28 June, followed by Chapter 2 on 16 August.

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‘The Garfield Movie' Review: Beloved Feline Loses His Sarcastic Growl in Product Placement-Heavy Origin Story

The lasagna-obsessed feline with a near-pathological aversion to Mondays, who first came into popular consciousness in the late ‘70s as a comic strip, is a diluted version of himself in "The Garfield Movie." Not only is his suave apathy mostly replaced by an excessive excitedness with only sporadic glimpses of his endearingly negative qualities, but this Garfield jumps off trains, stages a heist, and is subjected to trite physical comedy by way of numerous predictable action sequences. The ordeal mimics a rehashed plot from the dull "The Secret Life of Pets" franchise with Garfield forcefully plugged in.

All of these choices amount to a production that fundamentally misunderstands Garfield's appeal as a lovingly indifferent, self-centered glutton whose greatest aspiration is to do nothing and have all his needs catered to him. It's a Garfield movie for audiences who have never heard of Garfield, which reads as an attempt at erasing history and reintroducing him in this high-octane, overly stimulated form for a generation with reduced attention spans. Set in the present, Garfield now orders food on delivery apps - and in a climatic sequence it's drones, not drivers, who help him save the day - which sets the stage for several instances of shamelessly conspicuous product placement from Walmart to Olive Garden. In another example of low-hanging, pop culture-centric, uninspired humor, this Garfield's favorite pastime is to watch Catflix, a streaming site exclusively dedicated to online cat videos.

Such is the disinterest in reflecting the world of Garfield as it had previously existed that even Garfield's owner Jon Arbuckle (voiced here by Nicholas Hoult), has been adulterated. Preceding iterations often portrayed Jon's frustration at his pets' antics, but the Jon here not only lacks screen time but recognizable personality traits. At least Garfield's loyal canine pal Odie remains mostly intact - Harvey Guillén, on a kick voicing animated dogs after Perrito in "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish," is in charge of his sounds. Pratt's sunny tone voicing the main role fails to capture Garfield's sarcastic nonchalance. His star casting, as was the case in last year's "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," prompts one to long for Bill Murray's take on the pudgy cat in the hybrid films from the early aughts, because even though those productions were far from compelling, they better captured his essence.

Devised to function as an origin story, "The Garfield Movie" introduces Vic (Samuel L. Jackson), the father who, in this interpretation of his story, abandoned Garfield as a kitten. The burly cat, who doesn't exist in this form in other "Garfield" media, reappears in his life when a cookie-cutter villain, Jinx (Hannah Waddingham) and her equally unoriginal dog henchmen coerce him to steal over 1000 gallons of milk from a dairy farm/theme park.

The demand serves as retribution for the time Jinx spend in the pound after a failed robbery with Vic. The screenwriters (Paul A. Kaplan, Mark Torgove, and David Reynolds) further burden the narrative by spending multiple scenes and even flashbacks (done in an interesting 2D, illustration style) on supporting characters that feel superimposed to elicit emotional resonance. The main culprit is Otto (Ving Rhames), a self-possessed bull banished from the farm and unable to see his beloved cow girlfriend.

In defense of director Mark Dindal, who helmed Disney's "The Emperor's New Groove" and "Chicken Little," and his animation team, the cartoony facial expressions and realistic fur in this Garfield find an aesthetically pleasing middle ground between his hand-drawn version and those done in CGI for the big screen adventures and later for a late 2000s-2010s TV program "The Garfield Show." The graphic look of "The Garfield Movie" calls to mind how the now defunct studio BlueSky approached their adaptation of the "Peanuts" characters. Caught in the nonstop boisterousness that consumes most of the running time, one could easily forget that the opening sequence, which benefits from limited lines, where an adorable, big-eyed baby Garfield first meets John is an engaging departure point. If only the creators would have stuck with the quotidian tribulations that best befit Garfield rather than opting for high-stakes stunts that betray him. The result is more a generic product in search of fleeting mass appeal than a work invested in Garfield as a unique character.

The longer this bombastic exploit runs, the fonder the heart grows for the animated series "Garfield & Friends" from the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, the most accomplished audiovisual adaptation of Jim Davis' creation. That a woman sitting near this writer spent the entire movie scrolling on her cell phone while her children half-watched confirms that a lot of American animated features aimed at young audiences have been completely devalued by both studios and audiences, condemned to exist as rowdy background noise desperate to win the battle for attention against ubiquitous handheld devices - even in a theater. "The Garfield Movie" serves as a bleak reminder that the future of much children's entertainment made in this country is to become colorful advertisements. It's also a terrible Monday of a film for the orange tabby whose storied laziness over nearly 50 years has certainly earned him better.

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Kevin Costner’s ‘Horizon’ Is a Misogynistic, Racist, Retrograde Mess

ANOTHER WATERWORLD?

Kevin Costner mortgaged his house to make this three-part saga. “Chapter 1” premiered at Cannes, and is an interminable, confusing, and somewhat offensive disaster.

Esther Zuckerman

Cannes Film Festival

Early on into the three hours of viewing Kevin Costner ’s Horizon: An American Saga—Chapter 1 I thought back to last year’s Cannes Film Festival , where I saw Martin Scorsese ’s Killers of the Flower Moon for the first time. That brilliant movie is a full throated condemnation of the genocide of Native Americans by white people who claim the U.S. as their own. Horizon is not that.

Instead, one of the inciting incidents in the unwieldy film that Costner directs is a violent Apache assault on a settlement. The mostly white settlers are portrayed as terrified innocents. Sienna Miller’s Frances hides beneath her house with her similarly blonde daughter (Georgia MacPhail) while her husband and son are murdered. They are shot in beatific fashion, meanwhile, the Native American assailants are shadowy figures who attack unprovoked. There are nods to nuance that come later, but far too little in the first part of Costner’s passion project, which debuted at the festival.

Everything about Horizon is retrograde. Men are noble heroes (like Hayes Ellison, the drifter played by Costner), or brutes who toss around the women, themselves either saintly like Miller or frivolous and nagging. Even the score from John Debney, with its sweeping strings, feels like it was piped in the ’90s. But Costner was better in that era—there’s more nuance in Dances with Wolves than there is here.

But the biggest problem with Horizon is that, even with its lengthy running time, Costner has only scratched the surface of the “saga” he’s trying to tell. There is no arc to what happens, just the seemingly unending introduction of characters. Chapter 1 doesn’t end. Rather it just trails off into a clip reel of what’s to come like one of those “this season on…” promos that comes at the beginning of a television show. That montage at least depicts how some of the disparate threads will collide. It finishes, however, on a shot of Giovanni Ribsi’s face as a character we have yet to meet, a befuddling choice.

Horizon doesn’t even feel like three episodes of an hour-long drama, because those usually tell some sort of complete story. This just feels like fragments, during which it is impossible to tell how much time has passed.

So what is Horizon , which Costner co-wrote with Jon Baird, about? Well, too many things. But to put it simply, it’s about a bunch of people in the American West in the 1860s in the piece of land in the San Pedro Valley deemed “Horizon.” There’s the Miller storyline, in which she and her daughter are taken in following the destruction of their camp at Horizon by a group of kindly Union soldiers, including Sam Worthington as First Lt. Trent Gephardt, with whom we will eventually see her have a romantic relationship. Some of the survivors, meanwhile, go off to seek revenge, which starts to weigh on a small boy.

Costner shows up about an hour in as Hayes, who runs into the promiscuous Marigold (Abbey Lee), who is forced to take care of a child when the enemies of the kid’s mother (Jena Malone) arrive in town. (One of the most mortifying scenes involves Lee’s character mounting Costner’s saying she's going to help him go to sleep by having sex with him.)

There is, separate from all of this, a bit about a group of pioneers in covered wagons in Western Kansas. They are led by Luke Wilson’s Matthew Van Weyden, who has to deal with some fussy Brits played by Ella Hunt and Tom Payne. We also briefly meet an Apache played by Tatanka Means. I assume he will have more to do later, which is also what I can say for most everyone on screen.

The lack of conclusion for any of the characters—except for the ones who die—make it almost impossible to evaluate Horizon without caveats. But at the same time, it is punishing to ask audiences to invest this much time in a theater, especially given that there are apparently three more parts coming. The first two are due to be released this summer, with Chapter 1 in June and Chapter 2 in August.

I’m not sure why Costner didn’t turn this into the television project it so wishes to be. Perhaps he just wanted to one up Yellowstone , the wildly popular Taylor Sheridan show, on which he played John Dutton, and which he decided to leave. But as a cinematic experience it is aggravating in multiple ways. If you’re not mad at how offensively backward it all is, you’ll be pissed about all the stage setting.

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‘anora’ review: mikey madison is a delightfully scrappy force in sean baker’s cracked cinderella story.

A young sex worker’s romantic entanglement with the son of a Russian oligarch gets very messy in this screwball comedy set in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn.

By David Rooney

David Rooney

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'beating hearts' review: love conquers all, including good taste, in overwrought french crime romance starring adèle exarchopoulos, 'all we imagine as light' review: a moving and luminous chronicle of two women searching for connection in mumbai.

Ani lives with her sister in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, and works in a Manhattan lap-dancing bar called HQ, an environment of throbbing sexuality and glittering sleaze that Baker refreshingly treats like any regular workplace. New York is tough and a girl’s got to earn a living. There’s both camaraderie and friction among the young women who dance there, and while over-inebriated customers might sometimes need to be cut off at the bar, the bouncer and boss ensure that it’s a relatively safe space.

Approaching each potential client with a winsome smile, Ani knows how to maximize her take-home, gently steering them via the ATM to semi-private booths for a lap dance or into VIP rooms for something more special. Her upbringing with an Uzbek grandmother who spoke no English has given her cultural familiarity and rudimentary communication skills that come in handy with Russian customers, which is the case when Ivan Zakharov (Mark Eydelshteyn), hits the club ready to party. “God bless America!” he exclaims as Ani treats him to a little extra.

He invites her to a wild New Year’s Eve party at his palatial digs, and when she makes moves to head home the next day, he suggests an exclusive arrangement whereby she spends the week with him before he’s due to return to Russia and start working for his father. In a winking nod to Pretty Woman , she negotiates upwards to $15,000, cash up-front.

There’s plenty of booze, coke and weed on hand as they hang out at Coney Island with Ivan’s bros and their girlfriends. On a whim, they all head on a private plane to Las Vegas, where Ivan is no stranger to their hotel’s luxury penthouse suite. In what starts out half-jokingly but soon becomes a serious, if impulsive, proposal, he asks Ani to marry him. One four carat diamond ring purchase later, they’re hitched.

In a similarly ironic way to how he used NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye” in Red Rocket , Baker makes a motif of the Take That banger, “Greatest Day,” a euphoric anthem for the giddy high on which Ani’s life is transformed. Wrapped in a luxuriant new Russian sable coat, she ditches her HQ job, excitedly planning on the Disney World honeymoon in a magical princess suite that she’s dreamed of since she was a kid.

In the movie’s most hilarious set-piece, Ivan makes a run for it, leaving Ani alone to deal with the goons. But she proves a formidable match for them, causing considerable wreckage and injury before they subdue her long enough to bundle her into a car and go looking for her husband. That night-long search takes them through authentic Brighton Beach locales — a pool hall, a videogame arcade, Tatiana Grill on the boardwalk — all of which serve to enrich the movie’s sense of place.

Ivan’s father Nikolai (Aleksey Serebryakov) and his far more ferocious mother Galina (Darya Ekamasova) fly in to deal with the disgrace to their family and push through an annulment. When Ivan, accurately described by Toros as “a spoiled brat who doesn’t want to grow up,” is finally located, he’s too wasted even to discuss what’s happening with Ani.

As events veer into seemingly dangerous territory, Baker spices up the scenes with throwaway humor that keeps the film buoyant, even as Ani gets a rude awakening about the shallowness of spineless Ivan’s feelings for her, let alone his respect. But as is customary in the director’s work, women treated as sexual playthings in the narrative are treated with dignity by the film. It’s a nice touch that while Galina fumes over Ani’s refusal just to back down and be compliant, Nikolai finds her feistiness extremely funny. He seems unaccustomed to hearing anyone talk back to his wife.

Madison plays Ani’s emotionally bruising experience with affecting poignancy, but the heart of the movie owes as much to the unexpected capacity for kindness shown by Igor, who’s supposed to be the designated muscle. Borisov, so wonderful as the soulful Russian miner in Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen’s Compartment No. 6 , plays the character’s sensitivity by stealth degrees, through to a closing scene that’s intentionally awkward but genuinely moving.

Again collaborating with cinematographer Drew Daniels, who shot Red Rocket , this time working in 35mm with anamorphic lenses, Baker gives each of the story’s principal settings — HQ, sleepy Coney Island in winter, glitzy Vegas and Ivan’s airy Brooklyn home — its own distinctive vitality, color palette and lighting textures. While Anora could stand to lose 10-15 minutes, it’s a very satisfying watch, deftly commenting on questions of class, privilege and the wealth divide. The director continues firmly staking out his niche as a chronicler of the messy lives of an often invisible American underclass.

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