20s Movie Review - I Still Believe

Director: Andrew Erwin, Jon Erwin
Genre: Drama/ Music/ Romance
Runtime: 116 minutes
Year: 2020
Starring: KJ Apa, Britt Robertson, Nathan Parsons, Gary Sinise, Shania Twain

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2021 CHALLENGE MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 45: A MOVIE ABOUT MUSIC
 
Description: The true-life story of Christian music star Jeremy Camp (KJ Apa) and his journey of love and loss that looks to prove there is always hope.

Review: Jeremy has finished high school and is all set to go to college. With his guitare and his enthusiasm, he moves to California, where begins his studies. Because of his interest in music, he is soon noticed by Jean-Luc, a successful artist who also studied at the university. However, he gets the most attention from Melissa, a young girl with whom he quickly becomes very close. Jeremy works his way I in the music industry and is on the verge of becoming a star. But just then fates strikes Melissa. She has cancer and it spreads rapidly throughout her body. Jeremy hoes his utmost to deal with her illness and involves hundreds of thousands of fans.
“I Still Believe” is based on the life of Jeremy Camp, a pop star fairly unknown to most but has a huge fan base in the United States. That alone will make you interested in the film. But when you are about fifteen minutes into the film, you know that the movie by the Erwin brothers is far from impressive. While the story certainly looks touching and captivating, the film’s creators by no means succeed in making you really sympathize with the characters. The large jumps in the story and the implausible twists make it difficult to stay interested as a viewer. In addition, the film’s message I excessively Christian, something that doesn’t really work for a lot of people. I’m very respectful towards people and their religions and find it admirable that people have faith and believe there is a higher power. I’m just not that person, I’m not religious and do not like it when it’s forced on you. That’s probably the reason why I didn’t like this movie.
The screenplay doesn’t allow you to actually sympathize with Jeremy or Melissa, an on-screen couple who look believable. That’s extraordinary, especially knowing that this film is based on true events. The problem is by no means the actors, the characters have not been given enough background.
Overall, “I Still Believe” is not a movie I would recommend, only if the theme really interests you or if you are a Jeremy Camp fan.

Rating: 2/ 5