Movies

The Shack

Octavia Spencer and Sam Worthington star in a scene from the movie “The Shack.” LIONSGATE | CNS

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After his young daughter (Amelie Eve) is abducted and murdered, a previously devout man (Sam Worthington) has a crisis of faith until a supernatural encounter with the Trinity (Octavia Spencer, Avraham Aviv Alush and Sumire) alters his perspective. Beautiful settings and a sense of humor help to keep director Stuart Hazeldine’s screen version of William Paul Young’s bestselling novel from bogging down in sentimentality. Patches of dialogue discounting the value of religion, however — here implicitly set in opposition to faith broadly speaking — and hinting that God is indifferent to how we worship him mean that impressionable viewers should keep their distance. So, too, does the morally problematic treatment of a dark and long-kept secret. Overall, though, this is a serious effort to tackle the problem of evil from a Christian perspective that grown viewers of faith can, with a few reservations, welcome.

Watch out for: Scenes of domestic violence, mature themes requiring careful discernment.

Rated: A-III, adults; MPAA: PG-13

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