Fireproof

A turning point for American evangelical cinema. The producer, Sherwood Pictures, is the film arm of a Baptist church in Albany, Georgia, and most of the cast and crew were members of the congregation. Caleb is a fire captain whose marriage is ending when his father hands him a forty-day programme, one act toward his wife each day, from a book called The Love Dare. The film also restarted Kirk Cameron's career. The budget was $500,000, against the $100,000 of their previous film. It opened on 839 screens, took $6.5m in its first weekend and reached $33m, making it the highest-grossing independent film of 2008. Hollywood argued about that result for years. One production detail explains the film's world better than anything: Cameron and the producers hold to a rule that actors who are not married to each other do not kiss on screen. The script had looks and embraces instead, and for the final scene Cameron's own wife stood in. Who it is for: viewers curious about how faith-based cinema works and untroubled by the message. Who it is not for: anyone looking for dramatic nuance. The acting is amateur, conflicts resolve in a single move, and the film sets out to confirm its audience rather than persuade it.