Review of Blue Like Jazz

As a fan of Don's book and a Christian I won't lie that I was very excited to see what this movie had to offer. As a filmmaker though I was skeptical and even a bit upset to see that one of my favorite books was going to be made into a "Christian movie". (most of which I think don't deserve to even be called movies much less art). I was pleasantly surprised. Blue Like Jazz doesn't deserve the rather discouraging term of a "Christian movie". It is in fact a film that is on the level of any other independent of its stature. The writing was very good and realistic though not perfect by any means I am happy to say that I think the screenplay matches up with any average indie in the same budget range. The acting was very skillful and well done I was more than happy with almost every characters performance within the film. A pleasant surprise for many independents. Perhaps my favorite thing is that this movie is actually art. Its not a Christian movie trying to be an actual movie that has a terrible sermon like ending with 1- dimensional characters and horrible stereotypes (though the film is guilty of a bit of that) It's a real movie. This movie is something that I think almost any viewer could watch no matter their religious views and feel like they've seen a real story that they can get something out of. A great movie to watch that just happens to deal with spirituality and a young mans struggle to decide for himself what he believes in life. I think this film accurately portrays a certain experience we all go through in life. Having our ideas challenged and having to face the facts and decide from there. This film is perfect by no means but i'm happy to say that I think it is a great piece of art that just so happens to have some people who believe in the teachings of Jesus involved in it.