‘Ordinary Angels’: Hilary Swank Brings Weight to Otherwise Standard Tear-Jerker 

Alci Rengifo

There is a certain kind of feel-good film that can be hard to push away, even as it celebrates all those heart-tugging clichés about life turning out astoundingly great if you believe. “Ordinary Angels” is just that kind of movie. It is also part of a new trend in faith-based films that know how to keep the faith part subtle enough to not become a sermon. You don’t have to believe in the almighty to get into its Lifetime vibes, something director Jon Gunn specializes in since he has worked on the preachy and less preachy ends of this genre. He gets lucky to have Hilary Swank lead the cast as well, since she gives the movie the emotional heft that’s missing in the speedy script, which is based on actual events.

Swank plays Sharon Stevens, a single woman living in a woodland corner of 1990s America who drinks and parties too much. Her best friend, Rose (Tamala Jones), who co-owns a hair salon with Sharon, is worried and tries to get her into AA. But a reluctant Sharon instead finds purpose just by luck when she comes across a newspaper story about five-year-old Michelle Schmitt (Emily Mitchell), who lost her mother to illness and is now herself in desperate need of a liver transplant. Feeling an almost invisible pull, Sharon decides to raise money for the girl’s treatment and delivers it to a surprised Ed Schmitt (Alan Ritchson), Michelle’s dad. But Ed is sinking in debt, bills and now huge medical expenses. So Sharon decides to help out, raising the question of how much of it is genuine commitment or her form of coping.

“Ordinary Angels” then proceeds exactly as you would expect, with Sharon and Ed going through highs and lows as they try to save Michelle. You can’t really slam the movie considering it knows what audience it’s catering to. Yet, as that kind of movie, Gunn does try to tell an actual story despite all the walking archetypes. Ed is the ultimate working class American dad whose only fault is being too proud to ask for help. He jerks at our tears by also refusing to sell his home to pay debts, because it’s all he has left of his deceased wife. His sister, Barbara (Nancy Travis), has to constantly remind Ed not to lose faith in God, though it’s easy to see why he’s getting frustrated. Poor Alan Ritchson has little to work with other than looking dead serious and scruffy all the time. He knows his task is to be the no-nonsense dad Sharon needs to chip away at.

Hilary Swank makes the movie by turning Sharon into a kind of despairing Erin Brockovich. Gunn, whose credits include “Do You Believe,” isn’t making anything beyond PG, so the most our hero does is dance atop a bar and fall on her back. But when Sharon shares about being broken or is questioned about the sincerity of her newfound mission to help Ed, Swank gives her genuine weight. The movie empathizes instead of judges. Thankfully, spoiler alert, Gunn also avoids turning the story into a predictable romance where Ed and Sharon come together as a couple through all the hardship. This is apparently how the real story has turned out, despite the movie taking some very big liberties (the real Sharon was apparently never an alcoholic). The Oscar-winner makes some of the more astounding moments believable. Somehow, Sharon is capable of everything from arranging Ed’s finances to securing at least five private planes on standby for when an organ donor for Michelle appears. It’s that kind of movie about the American will to get anything done. You just need to be pushy with phone calls.

By the end, even the local church congregation comes out with fellow community members to clear the snow during a massive storm in order for a helicopter to land and get Michelle to the hospital. What barely saves the movie as an ok tear-jerker is that Gunn never makes it about proselytizing religion and keeps the focus on Hilary Swank. Like certain date movies, you can roll your eyes if you’re not into this genre, but for those who have tissue boxes nearby for their movie-watching, “Ordinary Angels” never gets insulting. The end credits roll with photos of the real people, so when we switch off the movie, we have that tingly feeling that the world isn’t so bad after all. That’s what Gunn is selling and he knows how to do it.

“Ordinary Angels” releases Feb. 23 in theaters nationwide.