''Heaven Is for Real'' is a 2014 American

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

film written and directed by

Randall Wallace Randall Wallace (born July 28, 1949) is an American screenwriter, film director, producer, and songwriter who came to prominence by writing the screenplay for the historical drama film '' Braveheart'' (1995). His work on the film earned him a nom ...

and co-written by Christopher Parker, based on Pastor Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent's

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

book of the same name. The film stars

Greg Kinnear Gregory Buck Kinnear (born June 17, 1963) is an American actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in '' As Good as It Gets'' (1997). Kinnear has appeared in many popular films, including '' Sabrina'' (1 ...

Kelly Reilly Jessica Kelly Siobhán Reilly (born 18 July 1977) is an English actress. She first appeared on screen in 1995 on the series '' The Biz''. Her other television work includes starring roles in the British crime drama '' Above Suspicion'' (2009– ...

, Connor Corum,

Margo Martindale Margo Martindale (born July 18, 1951) is an American character actress who has appeared on television, film, and stage. In 2011, she won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Critics' Choice Television Award for her recurring role as Mags Bennett on '' J ...

, and

Thomas Haden Church Thomas Haden Church (born Thomas Richard McMillen; June 17, 1960) is an American actor. After starring in the 1990s sitcom ''Wings'' and playing the lead for two seasons in '' Ned & Stacey'' (1995–1997)'','' Church became known for his film work ...

. The film was released on April 16, 2014. The film has received mixed critical reviews, but nevertheless was a box office success, grossing $101 million against a $12 million budget, becoming the second-highest grossing Christian film of all time.

Plot

Four-year-old Colton Burpo is the son of Todd Burpo,

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of Crossroads

Wesleyan Church The Wesleyan Church, also known as the Wesleyan Methodist Church and Wesleyan Holiness Church depending on the region, is a Methodist Christian denomination in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Namibia, Sierra Leone, L ...

Imperial, Nebraska Imperial is a city in Chase County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 2,071 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Chase County. History The original town of Imperial was built on land homesteaded by Thomas Mercier and M.J. Good ...

. Colton says he experienced

Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the bel ...

during an emergency surgery after having

acute appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a rup ...

. He describes to his incredulous family about having seen the surgeon operating on his ruptured appendix, his mother calling people in the waiting room to pray, and his father in another room yelling at

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

to not let him die. He also speaks of incidents with people he never met or knew about: meeting a great-grandfather who had died long before he was born, an unborn sister he never knew about who had died in a

miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion and pregnancy loss, is the death of an embryo or fetus before it is able to survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks of gestation is defined by ESHRE as biochemical ...

, and having met

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

. Colton speaks about his experiences in Heaven, and Todd is faced with the dilemma of determining the legitimacy of his son's experience. Todd's wariness about discussing the situation erodes the confidence of the board members of his church, and he is contacted by several members of the media. When Todd is called by a radio station for an impromptu on-air interview, he invites them to attend his sermon the following Sunday. At church, he preaches about his son's experiences and reveals his support for him. Following the events at the church, Todd is doing research on the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a ''internetworking, network of networks'' that consists ...

and finds a story about a Lithuanian girl who had a similar experience. Her recall of Jesus was identical to that of Colton. Todd tries to speak to Colton further about the experience but he is interrupted by his wife revealing that she is pregnant with their third child. Photos of Colton and his family are shown in the present day.

Cast

* Connor Corum as Colton Burpo *

as Todd Burpo, a small-town pastor in Nebraska *

as Sonja Burpo, Burpo's wife * Lane Styles as Cassie Burpo, Burpo's daughter and Colton's sister *

as Nancy Rawling *

as Jay Wilkins * Mike Mohrhardt as

* Ali Tataryn as Angel * Ina Barron as Angel *

Jacob Vargas Jacob Vargas (born August 18, 1971) is a Mexican-American actor and performer. Early life Vargas was born in Michoacán, Mexico, and raised in Pacoima, Los Angeles, California. He was raised in a devout Roman Catholic family. He attended high sch ...

as Michael * Nancy Sorel as Dr. Charlotte Slater * Danso Gordon as Ray *

Darcy Fehr Darcy Fehr is a Canadian actor. Career Fehr's films include ''Desire'' (2000), '' The Saddest Music in the World'' (2003), '' There's Something Out There'' (2004) and ''The Law of Enclosures'' (2000). Fehr's most notable roles have been his port ...

as Lee Watson * Amber Lynn Partridge as The Zookeeper * Kevin Anderson as Mr. Baxter

Production and development

In May 2011,

Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acq ...

acquired the film rights of the book ''

Heaven Is for Real ''Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back'' is a 2010 '' New York Times'' best-selling Christian book written by Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent and published by Thomas Nelson Publishers. The book docume ...

''. It was announced that

Joe Roth Joseph Emanuel Roth is an American film executive, producer and director. He co-founded Morgan Creek Productions in 1988 and was chairman of 20th Century Fox (1989–1993), Caravan Pictures (1993–1994), and Walt Disney Studios (1994–200 ...

would be producing the film with T. D. Jakes for the

TriStar Pictures TriStar Pictures, Inc. (spelled as Tri-Star until 1991) is an American film studio and production company that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, part of the multinational conglomerate Sony. It is a corporate sibling of Sony ...

division of Sony Pictures. On August 23, 2012 '' Braveheart'' writer and ''

Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred racehorse who is the ninth winner of the Ameri ...

'' director

signed on to direct. On March 19, 2013, it was announced that

was in talks to star, and he later joined the cast. On April 15, 2013, actress

joined the film. On July 17, it was reported that composer

Nick Glennie-Smith Nickolas Glennie-Smith is an English film score composer, conductor, and musician who is a frequent collaborator with Hans Zimmer, contributing to scores including '' The Rock'' (nominated for the Academy Award for Best Sound), the 2006 histori ...

would score the film, and behind the scenes, the director of photography was

Dean Semler Dean Semler ACS ASC (born 26 May 1943) is an Australian cinematographer and film director. Over his career, he has worked as a cinematographer, camera operator, director, second unit director, and assistant director. He is a three-time rec ...

Shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles c ...

began in the last week of July 2013 in Selkirk,

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Win ...

Release

The film was released on April 16, 2014 and held a 3,048 theater count through its 4th week.

Reception

Box office

At the end of box office run, ''Heaven Is for Real'' earned a gross of $91,443,253 in North America and $9,026,536 in other territories for a worldwide total of $100,469,789 against a budget of $12 million. The film grossed $3.7 million on its opening day. It went on to gross a total of $22.5 million in its opening weekend, playing in 2,417 theaters for a $9,318 per-theatre average finishing in second behind '' Captain America: The Winter Soldier''. The biggest markets in other territories were Mexico, Poland, and Colombia where the film grossed $1.9 million, $1.4 million, and $1.2 million, respectively.

Critical response

''Heaven Is for Real'' received mixed reviews. The film holds a 51% rating on the film aggregator website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, based on 89 reviews, with an average score of 5.6/10. The site's consensus states, "''Heaven Is for Real'' boasts a well-written screenplay and a talented cast, but overextends itself with heavy-handed sequences depicting concepts it could have trusted the audience to take on faith." On another website,

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, it has a 47/100 score (indicating "mixed or average"), based on reviews from 27 critics. In

CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...

polls conducted during the opening weekend, cinema audiences gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. Jeb Lund, a columnist for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'', expressed skepticism about the depiction of the story in the film. The red markers which Colton Burpo claims Jesus had on his hands and feet are well known. The boy could have easily guessed that his minister father would have been praying, or nursing staff could have told him.

Accolades

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heaven Is For Real 2014 films 2014 independent films American independent films Films scored by Nick Glennie-Smith Films about children Affirm Films films Films about Christianity Films about evangelicalism Films based on non-fiction books Films directed by Randall Wallace Films produced by Joe Roth Films set in Nebraska Films shot in Winnipeg Heaven and hell films Heaven in popular culture Fiction about near-death experiences Portrayals of Jesus in film TriStar Pictures films 2014 drama films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films