Movie Review: I Still Believe

Believe it or not, the film I Still Believe from Lionsgate is ostensibly the true-life story of Christian music star Jeremy Camp. But, this allegedly “inspiring” love story from the directors of the similarly-themed I Can Only Imagine (2018) is pretty much a copy of their earlier film and that’s about the loftiest praise you can bestow upon it.

Camp is played by J.J. Apa (Archie from television’s Riverdale [2017—]), and he is perfectly likable in his role as Camp, but the character is allowed no character growth throughout the film. He starts a devout Christian singer-songwriter and ends as such. Furthermore, he faces no real crisis in that his faith is never really tested. Sure, bad things happen in his life, but he’s steadfast in his response to them and never waivers from his path. While this is becoming of characters in a film like this, it doesn’t afford any classic character arc. In short, Jeremy is who he is and that all that he is. While Melissa (Britt Robertson) gets to do the heavy-lifting in the emotional category here, she too has little to do other than fall for Jeremy and then get sick and wax philosophically about how it’s all part of a larger plan and so on.

All of this would be fine if I Still Believe somehow managed to make Jeremy’s journey a test or trial of sort, something that the audience could be happy he emerged from unscathed and having found true love with Melissa in the first place. As it stands, he moves on with his life after her illness and credits his faith, Melissa’s faith, his new wife’s faith, etc. It’s as though no one learned anything from the ordeal they just endured. In fact, the only character that offers anything interesting throughout is Jeremy’s father (played by Gary Sinise) when he sums up his son’s relationship with Melissa for him in an effort to comfort Jeremy. It’s one of the most heartfelt moments in the film

Perhaps I am not the audience that a film like I Still Believe is trying to connect with, I can admit that. But, whereas I’m willing to accept that a person’s religious beliefs may steer their actions and lives in a certain direction, that doesn’t mean in makes for a solid narrative through line.

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Mike Tyrkus

Editor in Chief at CinemaNerdz.com

An independent filmmaker, co-writer and director of over a dozen short films, the Editor in Chief of CinemaNerdz.com has spent much of the last three decades as a writer and editor specializing in biographical and critical reference sources in literature and the cinema, beginning in February 1991 reviewing films for his college newspaper. He was a member of the Detroit Film Critics Society, as well as the group's webmaster and one-time President for over a decade until the group ceased to exist. His contributions to film criticism can be found in Magill's Cinema Annual, VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever (of which he was the editor for nearly a decade until it too ceased to exist), the International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, and the St. James Film Directors Encyclopedia (on which he collaborated with editor Andrew Sarris). He has also appeared on the television program Critic LEE Speaking alongside Lee Thomas of FOX2 and Adam Graham, of The Detroit News. He currently lives in the Detroit area with his wife and their dogs.

@miketyrkus

Mike Tyrkus

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