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THE 5TH QUARTER

"A True Tale of Grief and Redemption"

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What You Need To Know:

Based on a true story, THE 5TH QUARTER is a touching, though disjointed tale of grief, forgiveness and redemption. The Abbate family seems to have an idyllic life in Atlanta, Georgia until their 15-year-old son dies in a car accident. Over the next several months, the family has to cope with the pain and grief of Luke's death in their own ways. His father buries himself in his work, his mother buries herself in a bottle, and his older brother, Jon, struggles to return to the football field at Wake Forest University. Then, Jon is inspired to return to the football field and takes Luke’s old Football number, the number 5, for his football jersey. Jon’s action inspires the university, and his family.

THE 5TH QUARTER is not the best-directed movie, and the storytelling is disjointed with multiple plotlines and no central focus. Even so, it has a strong, moral worldview with emphasis on forgiveness, redemption and recovery from grief. It also contains explicit Christian content, including prayer and Scripture verses. MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for THE 5TH QUARTER, however, due to some foul language, alcohol abuse and mature elements.

Content:

(BB, CC, Ab, LL, S, AA, MM); Strong moral worldview with emphasis on forgiveness, redemption and recovery from grief and moral inspiration, prayer depicted several times throughout as well as reading from Scripture in several scenes and a Christian funeral is depicted, and teenager's donated heart saves someone's life, but marred by extreme drinking and unmarried sexual activity; eight obscenities, eight light profanities ("My God") and five substitutionary words ("heck", "darn", etc.); light violence includes implied teenagers in car wreck after teenager is driving recklessly, the crumpled vehicle remains and 15-year-old boy dies in the hospital due to the car wreck, footage from football games including tackles, woman has a panic attack and struggles to breathe; married kissing, unmarried kissing and it’s somewhat implied that college-aged couple may be living together out of wedlock; no nudity; alcohol and beer use depicted in several scenes and drunkennes depicted; no smoking or drug use; and, young man skips class and family deals with grief (including anger and denial) after teenage son is killed in a reckless driving car accident.

More Detail:

Based on a true story, THE 5TH QUARTER is a touching, but fragmented tale of grief, forgiveness and redemption as a family deals with the death of their 15-year-old son from a teenage, reckless driving car accident.

The Abbate family seems to have an idyllic life. They live in a beautiful home in Atlanta, Georgia. Their oldest son, Jon, is a star defensive football player at Wake Forest University. Their other children are doing well in school, and their 15-year-old son, Luke is a promising young football player.

One day, after practice, Luke catches a ride home with one of his friends. After some reckless antics, the teenagers get into a major car accident. The other boys suffer minor wounds, but Luke is left in a coma, fighting for his life. As the family gathers at the hospital, they receive horrific news. Luke has been brain-dead for nearly 24 hours, and the family must make the decision to take him off life support.

Over the next several months, the family deals with the grief of Luke’s death in their own ways. His father buries himself in his work, his mother buries herself in a bottle, and his brother Jon struggles to return to the football field. Soon, Jon is inspired to return to the football field, even taking Luke’s old Football number, the number 5, for his football jersey. Not long after, the entire Wake Forest football team as well as the university rallies behind Luke’s memory, holding up #5s at every game. That year, Wake Forest has their best season in school history. As the team’s success grows, Luke’s parents find emotional healing in the inspiration of Luke’s story. Also, the entire family finds comfort when they get a chance to meet the recipient of Luke’s heart donation.

THE 5TH QUARTER is a touching true story. The tale illicits plenty of tears as viewers empathize with the Abbate family and their emotional journey. The movie is not the best-directed movie, and the storytelling is disjointed with multiple plotlines and no central focus.

Also, the movie uses actual game footage from Wake Forest’s historic 2006 football season, including crowd shots where all the university students hold up their hands, signaling the #5. This adds some exciting sports action to the movie as well as reminds viewers what an effect Luke’s young life had on so many other people. There are some choppy scenes, static dialogue and some misplaced plot points, but the movie still effectively conveys the heart of the Abbate family’s journey.

The movie has a strong, moral worldview with emphasis on forgiveness, redemption and recovery from grief. It also contains some explicitly Christian content such as prayer is depicted several times throughout the movie, Scripture is read in several scenes and a Christian funeral is depicted.

However, the movie does have some cautionary content that should be noted. There is some foul language, strong alcohol use including drunkenness, and an implication that Jon and his girlfriend are living together outside of wedlock. There are also some thematic elements of dealing with a teenage boy dying from a reckless car driving accident that parents may want to consider when viewing with their children.

All in all, THE 5TH QUARTER is an inspiring tale, but not the best filmmaking.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.