GRACE AND GOLIATH

Name: GRACE AND GOLIATH
Item: GRACE AND GOLIATH
Author: Review

"Transformation in Northern Ireland"

Family Content: -2 Extreme caution for older teenagers and adults.

Entertainment Quality:

	None	Light	Moderate	Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

Credits →

What You Need To Know:

GRACE AND GOLIATH is a 2018 movie about an arrogant movie director's journey to a transformed heart in Northern Ireland. In Belfast, to film a movie, Josh lives the high life as he prepares to start filming. However, when the studio pulls the rug out from underneath his movie, he is forced to face the outstanding debt he has incurred and all the people he has treated poorly. A family graciously takes him in, and while he repays them with rudeness at first, he soon starts to heal and turn his focus to the deep-down real reason he is in Belfast.

GRACE AND GOLIATH is filmed well for its small budget, and the storyline is engaging. It has excellent character development as Josh learns what it means to have compassion and generosity. However, the movie contains mixed moral elements. A woman speaks of committing adultery and having a child with another man without any remorse, and the film portrays a neutral view of it. There is light language and some inappropriate comments, so MOVIEGUIDE advises caution for all ages.

Content:

(Ab, BB, CC, L, V, SS, N, A, D, M):

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

Mixed worldview elements found throughout the movie. Moral elements of compassion and generosity are shown, but along with them comes unresolved immorality. A family takes in and loves an ungrateful, broken man, even when he is rude to them. When a girl gets sick, people step up to make sure she is cared for and able to get to a better hospital. A bible verse is mentioned, and a woman is seen reading her bible. Second chances are a theme throughout the movie. However, the mom of the family who takes in the troublemaker man is separated from her husband, and she explains that she committed adultery with him when they were still together. She doesn’t seem remorseful or need to seek forgiveness for it, and the movie doesn’t portray it as something wrong. On top of that, she starts to fall in love with the man living in their house, and the story never tells us if she officially divorced her husband;

Foul Language:

Two obscenities. People are called diva, scumbag, jerk, and horse dung. Oh my gosh;

Violence:

A man runs into a woman roughly and knocks her and her child over. A girl passes out. A man grabs another man by his collar aggressively. A man speaks harshly to his wife;

Sex:

A woman's behind is called an “under carriage.” A hotel cleaner goes into a man's room while he’s showering, and he comes out in a towel to find her cleaning his room. A woman, on multiple occasions, makes inappropriate comments about her chest size and whether men will notice. A man and woman kiss multiple times. A woman tells a man he’s gorgeous and asks him if he thinks she's pretty. A man kisses a woman’s hand; A woman claims to have committed adultery and had a child with another man.

Nudity:

A partially nude female statue is seen very briefly. Upper male nudity is seen. Dancers wear crop tops;

Alcohol Use:

People drink alcohol at a club and on multiple other occasions;

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

A woman is seen taking pills, which later turn out to be anti-depressants;

Miscellaneous Immorality:

A man is dressed up in female makeup by a young girl while he is sleeping. A man and woman are separated, and the man won’t take care of his children. A man tells a woman what a horrible mother she is. Children suffer from not having a dad.

More Detail:

GRACE AND GOLIATH is a 2018 movie about an arrogant movie director’s transformational stay in Ireland. Setting up for a movie in Belfast, Josh explores the city, getting a feel for what he’s going to shoot. While there, he spares no expense, staying in the nicest hotel and buying drinks for all his fans – and racking up much debt. He treats those around him with no respect and is scornful of those under him.

One day, he gets a call from the studio telling him that they have pulled out of the deal and have decided not to fund his movie. With a large debt and no incoming cash flow, he has no way to pay his bills or even get home. He is kicked out of his hotel and left on the streets of Belfast. However, a family has compassion for him and takes him into their house. The family consists of a mom, grandmother, and three kids. Two boys and a young girl. He dislikes and is annoyed with all of them, especially the kids, and he repays their generosity with rudeness.

However, things change as the family continually shows compassion to him and loves him even when he rejects them. Slowly, over time, his attitude begins to change, and he starts to develop a relationship with the family. Things start looking up until one day the girl passes out and is discovered to have a rare heart disease. For her to have the operation she needs, she must be moved to a London hospital and pay sixty thousand pounds. While it seems impossible at first, Josh is determined not to let his new little friend die. He and some of the family’s close friends devise a plan to raise the money necessary for the little girl. In the midst of this, Josh is struggling to face his own past and the real reason he came to Belfast.

GRACE AND GOLIATH, while filmed on a small budget, does a great job of engaging viewers. It has good casting and a compelling storyline. The movie also has a good scope, featuring numerous drone shots and wide-angle shots. The storyline focuses on Josh’s personal growth as he undergoes a transformation and develops humility. It portrays this well and succeeds in what it’s trying to do, even if it can be a bit cheesy and slow at times.

The movie incorporates elements of a mixed moral worldview. On the good side, it has strong values of compassion and generosity. The family takes in Josh even though they are tight on money, and they care for him. Even when he is rude and inconsiderate, they still treat him kindly. Which slowly changes him, and they make a point of telling him, “In giving, we are truly happy.” On the downside, they include some unresolved immorality.

The mother of the household tells Josh that she committed adultery and had a child with another man. She doesn’t seem to have any remorse about this, and the movie treats it as a neutral thing. Her husband isn’t living with her in the movie because they have separated. She and Josh start falling in love, and Josh doesn’t have any problems with her still being married and having committed adultery. This element, paired with some light language and inappropriate comments made by some women in the movie, makes it unsuitable for children to watch. MOVIEGUIDE advises strong caution for all ages.