Thoughts on "The Shack"

I went into the movie theatre showing The Shack dreading that it was going to be another God's Not Dead, where the answers to difficult questions became formulaic and almost trivial (I did not enjoy that movie...). However, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed The Shack.  I thought that she struggle that Mack went through to process, understand, and forgive his daughter's murder was something that was truly powerful to watch. The notion that Mack had to act out his though processes and actively work though his grief really showed his character develop over time.

One thing that I really enjoyed about the entire concept of the film was that all three parts of God, in ways of casting and acting, did seem to represent the "essence" of who they were portraying. The Holy Spirit was portrayed by a Korean woman who was in tune with nature, gentle, and had an aura of airy-ness that made her look as though she was floating. God the Father was played by Octavia Spencer, who portrayed God, called Papa in the film, as someone loving, gentle, patient, and ready for any situation. The portrayed that made me the most happy was the portrayal of Jesus, who was played by an Israeli man. I liked this because so often Jesus is portrayed as a white man with long hair that I think Christians forget that he didn't look like that.

I think it was the scenes with Jesus that moved em the most, probably because He is the figure Christians associate with gentleness and sacrifice. His scenes with Mack walking on water were very impactful because those familiar with the meaning of the original walking on water story will understand the significance of Jesus trying the same thing with Mack. It's all about trusting in Him. Additionally, the scene of Jesus playing with the children was the only scene that made me actually cry. His actions aren't even the main focus of the scene with Mack and Wisdom, but the pure joy and love in that scene, made more powerful when I remembered how much Jesus valued children, moved me the most.

The Shack is far from a perfect movie and, like much faith-based media, those who don't subscribe to Christian beliefs might not understand the film. But I think with the portrayal of the Trinity and the sincere grappling with loss is enough to give the film a chance.