The Shack – A Movie Review
I must say that I took a different approach when I watched the movie The Shack, based on a similarly titled novel by William P. Young. I decided to go in with an open mind.
The movie as well as the book follow the story of a man’s grief after experiencing the greatest tragedy – the loss of his daughter through a kidnapping and brutal murder. The narrative takes him through a journey of self-discovery. His incredible journey takes him through great pain and turmoil, directing him back to the God he had been angry with and had walked away from. His quest answers for him the great question, “where is God when we suffer great tragedies?”
When I read the book, I did not know what to expect as I knew nothing about the story or plot. And after reading the book, I was not personally a fan – and I gave the book a scathing review. I know I shocked my fellow book club members as they generally thought it was a great book. To be fair, I did not criticize the author for how the book was written, but for the storyline.
I took issue with the book because to me, it was written more as a non-fiction fantasy. It I could not get over the way God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost were portrayed – especially the Father’s portrayal as a woman.
But to be honest, I didn’t feel the same way as I watched the movie. Seeing the visual representation of what the author was trying to convey gave me a different perspective. Reading the book, I comprised my own visual representation of the events taking place – which were vastly different than what the movie illustrated. As such, I could see it in a different light.
The movie brought across the harmony which exists between the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. It also made me see one of the things I always hear preached about God. That “He will be, just want you need Him to be,” whether that is a father, a mother, a brother, a friend or even a doctor. This became evident in the movie when God the Father – who was depicted as a woman – became a man for a period of time to help the main character, Mackenzie. When Mackenzie asks God the Father why he is a man today, the Father replies, “because you will need a Father today.” That was an eye opening moment for me! I finally got what the author was trying to convey.
Ultimately, if I read the book again I would give it a much better review now that I have seen it depicted on screen.