movie review
Soul Surfer
AnnaSophia Robb portrays the real-life Bethany Hamilton
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‘Soul Surfer’ isn’t a complicated movie. Most people are probably familiar with the real-life story of Bethany Hamilton, the promising young surfer who lost her arm in a shark attack just as her pro surfing career was about to take off.
But what elevates this movie beyond just another dramatic story with a kid in peril and concerned parents is the performances of the actors and the fact that the filmmakers don’t talk down to us. I appreciate that.
We see a family that works together, both in the good times and the bad. We see a resilient teenager who loves surfing but makes the best of her situation by reaching beyond herself to help others. She realizes that there’s more to life than surfing when she travels to Thailand with her youth group to help out after the devastating tsunami, then comes home to piles of letters from kids who’ve suffered their own tragedies and are looking to her for guidance.
And we see people who are able to persevere beyond the tough times and find happiness again. The story could easily have devolved into a sappy Lifetime movie, but instead, it seems like a true portrayal of how a loving family would behave in that situation, probably because it’s based on the book by Bethany Hamilton. She was there. She knows how it all went down.
I also appreciate the fact that this is a Christian family who isn’t afraid to show their faith in God. So often, movies of faith are all one way or the other. It’s either all about God or all about no-God. But this movie integrates faith into the story in a real way. It’s no big deal that this family is Christian, and yet, it’s a very big deal. It’s everything.
I was really happy to hear that AnnaSophia Robb would be playing Bethany, because she’s the kind of soulful actress who could do justice to the role without being overly melodramatic. You get the feeling that she worked closely with Bethany to ensure that the true story would be told and not veer off-track in the name of drama.
Helen Hunt and Dennis Quaid turn in good performances as Bethany’s parents, doing their best to survive the emotional storm and follow her lead on how to deal with the trauma and move forward. And Carrie Underwood, in her first feature film role, does an admirable job as Bethany’s youth group leader. You can picture her doing that in real life.
Filling out the cast are Kevin Sorbo as the family friend who springs into action to save Bethany’s life after the attack; Lorraine Nicholson as Alana Blanchard, her longtime best friend dealing with her own trauma surrounding the event; Craig T. Nelson as the caring doctor who treats her; Ross Thomas and Chris Brochu as her brothers Noah and Timmy; and Sonya Balmores Chung as her fierce surfing competitor Malina Birch.
The movie was filmed in Hawaii and makes full use of its natural beauty with sweeping shots of the ocean, beaches and lush countryside. And aside from the shark attack scene, which is minimal – we only see a brief glimpse of the shark itself – the movie is clean in terms of language, violence and sexual innuendos.
In summary, ‘Soul Surfer’ is an earnest movie about the power of faith, family, hope and reaching beyond your own limitations to see what’s possible.
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