Soul Surfer movie review & film summary (2011) | Soul Surfer summary
Buttherehadtobemoretoitthanthat.Iapplaudherfaithandspirit.Igiveherfullcreditforherdetermination.Irealizesheisagreatathlete.ButIfeelsomethingismissing.Therehadtobedarknightsofthesoul.Timesofgriefandrage.Thetemptationofnihilism.Thelureofdespair.Cana13-year-oldgirlloseanarmandkeeprightonsmiling?Theflawinthestorytellingstrategyof"SoulSurfer"isthatitdoesntmakeBethanyeasytoidentifywith.Shesalmosteerieinheroptimism.Herreligiousfaithissounshaken,itfeelstakenforgranted.Thefilmfeelsmorelikeaninspirati...
But there had to be more to it than that. I applaud her faith and spirit. I give her full credit for her determination. I realize she is a great athlete. But I feel something is missing. There had to be dark nights of the soul. Times of grief and rage. The temptation of nihilism. The lure of despair. Can a 13-year-old girl lose an arm and keep right on smiling?
The flaw in the storytelling strategy of "Soul Surfer" is that it doesnt make Bethany easy to identify with. Shes almost eerie in her optimism. Her religious faith is so unshaken, it feels taken for granted. The film feels more like an inspirational parable than a harrowing story of personal tragedy.
Even its portrait of her recovery and rehabilitation is perfunctory. Theres a particularly unconvincing scene where shes fitted with a prosthetic arm and refuses to wear it. Theyre making remarkable progress in the field of prosthetics. But the arm that shes offered looks no more useful than the arm that she rips off...