I went to see the movie "Greater" this past Sunday. It is a good movie and one that SEC football fans would especially enjoy, but even non football fans are going to like this movie. Now there will be some cynics who will not like like it because they will say it is proselytizing, but I think it does a really good job of capturing some of the ethos of small town Arkansas. It is about the dream of a small boy who grew up in Harrison, Arkansas with the desire of one day playing football for the Arkansas Razorbacks. That boy was, of course, Brandon Burlsworth, who was a walk-on, but who through hard work and perseverance went on to become an All-American. That is the feel good part of the movie.
But there is another part of this film that really asks some hard questions about life, death, and faith in a very direct way at times. The characters and scenes in this film are so real. Sure there are some stereotypes, but real life is composed partly of stereotypes. The southern accents are not overdone like they are in some movies. A film like "The Blind Side" is the type of movie that one could watch over and over if that's what you wanted to do with your time. One time watching "The Blind Side" was enough for me, however. And one time watching "Greater" is all I want to see of this movie, but for different reasons. This movie was just too painful and too real. I thought this movie rose above being "hokey". Though it is rated PG and is a so-called "faith based" movie, in my opinion, it is a little too much for children. It was almost a little too much for me. And yes, there are real people out in middle America, fly-over country, that live their lives with the kind of values Brandon Burlsworth exhibited in his life. I would recommend seeing this one.
