Country music fans and those of Christian Pop are about to rush to theaters to check out Unsung Hero. The biopic of Rebecca St. James and her brother’s band For King + Country takes you on the immigration journey of the Smallbone family to America and their struggles to find their footing. Through music and faith, the family works together to make their new home work for them, and to secure a better future for their family.
Focusing on their father, David Smallbone, uprooting their family for a possible career and life-changing contract, the movie shows just how risky this was. Is this the inspiration that the movie is trying to force viewers to relate to? Or is it his lack of his own personal faith in his daughter’s ability until it is forced on him?
While both Rebecca St. James and her brother’s band For King + Country focus on Christian Pop and more faith-based music, the movie isn’t overly religious. It does have moments that focus on church, gospel hymns, and the family’s faith. But it doesn’t come off as overly preachy. However, the movie seems to almost lean into that too much and focus on maintaining a squeaky clean and “good for church” storyline. It seems like large portions of the story were either removed, modified, or sanitized for the movie. Is everything as good and clean as the movie portrays? Most likely not, life isn’t that neat. This leaves the movie with an almost unfinished feeling and makes it feel lacking.
The movie is meant to be inspirational, and with the introduction from the brothers at the beginning saying how they’ve been told their family’s story should be made into a movie multiple times – maybe it is to some people. But the result is a movie that will inspire some but is going to be mostly forgotten by audiences. It doesn’t have anything that has a bite. Fans of the musicians and within their faith and community may love it, but it lacks mass appeal.
Joining a long list of musician biopics in an over-saturated market, Unsung Hero is in theaters everywhere this weekend.
Overall Rating
About Unsung Hero
Based on a remarkable true story, Unsung Hero follows David Smallbone as he moves his family from Down Under to the States, searching for a brighter future after his successful music company collapses. With nothing more than their seven children, suitcases, and their love of music, David (for KING + COUNTRY’s Joel Smallbone) and his pregnant wife Helen (Daisy Betts) set out to rebuild their lives. Helen’s faith stands against all odds and inspires her husband and children to hold onto theirs. With their own dreams on hold, David and Helen begin to realize the musical prowess in their children, who would go on to become two of the most successful acts in Inspirational Music history: five-time GRAMMY Award®-winning artists for KING + COUNTRY and Rebecca St. James.