Image: GAC Family Media
Angel Falls Christmas Plot Summary
A career-driven doctor with little time for Christmas cheer receives heavenly intervention to get her on track.
Starring: Jessica Lowndes and Chad Michael Murray
My Movie Grade: A
It's About Work/Life Balance
ER doctor, Ally Morgan (Jessica Lowndes) finally receives a promotion to hospital administrator, which means she won't be working nights and has a shot at a normal schedule--something her boyfriend, Josh (David Reale) has been anxiously anticipating. Just as he's about to propose, Ally informs him she'll still be picking up extra shifts in the ER because she enjoys working with patients. Not being passionate about his career in marketing, Josh is floored by Ally's announcement and makes her choose between him and her job.
The two can't find a happy middle ground. Josh tells Ally, I wish you could see that there's more to life than just work.
Ally parries, I wish you could see that there's more to work than just work.
It's those two "wishes" that activate heaven's involvement. Sometimes, a wish is a prayer in disguise!
Chad Michael Murray Is an Angel?
Based on the movie posters and your knowledge of how romcoms work, you may have expected Josh to be replaced by Chad Michael Murray as Ally's true love. After all, Josh seems a little too ordinary to get the girl. Murray, however, plays Gabe--an angel with a mission.
Angels can't fall in love with humans, right? Biblically speaking, that's a correct assumption, but in a fictional romance movie, they apparently can!
Ally makes an ambitious list of Christmas festivities to tackle to get in the Christmas spirit, something she's avoided since losing her parents as a young girl. Gabe volunteers to help her as a friend, but as the two spend time together, Gabe finds himself wanting to be more than just an angel on assignment.
Gabe is puzzled when he notices his powers are diminished and learns it's the result of using them for self-serving purposes.
The role of Gabe is a very different role for Murray, who always plays the leading man with his signature cocky demeanor and confident swagger. In Angel Falls Christmas, however, he ditches the walk and the attitude. He stands tall, moves with purpose, is more focused on his mission rather than being charming, and the intensity with which his eyes penetrate Ally's will make your heart flutter.
No matter how much you hope Ally and Gabe will kiss, other angels interfere to prevent a portending disaster. Gabe's celestial co-worker shares this wisdom:
The ultimate act of love is to put aside pride and give everything to the other person.
Gabe soon learns realizes there's a lesson for him in all this: experiencing human love will help him know what advice to give to others in the future. Plus, all the break-up songs he's heard through the years suddenly make sense.
Angel Falls Christmas Contains a Message of Hope and Faith
It's a welcome relief in our devolving culture to find an inspiring movie to watch that emphasizes faith and hope and celebrates our values.
While script writers take a LOT of creative liberties to describe fictional angelic encounters, the takeaway is that there ARE angels on assignment in our world today and knowing that should shift our eyes and hearts heavenward to our loving God who sends them.
We are bombarded every day with messages promoting "self," but this movie reminds us that love is about putting others first. In a world of chaos, we are reminded not to worry. The angel Maureen says it best, Worrying doesn't take away tomorrow's troubles. It just takes away today's peace. Her statement is a juxtaposition of Matthew 6:34 which says essentially the same thing.
The movie also reminds us that there is no such thing as a coincidence, and if you've ever watched the Godwink movies on Hallmark, you know exactly what I mean.
Finally, we learn there's a reason why people act the way they do, so it's best not to judge. Ally isn't really a Scrooge. She has a lot of happy memories of her parents at Christmas, but the memories are bittersweet. To avoid the feelings associated with her painful loss, she hasn't prioritized the season. Bernadette seems like an annoying and intrusive neighbor on the surface, but we learn she lost her daughter years previously, and Ally reminds her of what her daughter might have become.
Angel Falls Christmas is a refreshing movie of substance, and we need more like it.
Comments
Post a Comment