''The Last Sin Eater'' is an American film released on February 9, 2007, directed by
Michael Landon Jr. and distributed by
Fox Faith. It is based on the 1998
novel of the same name by
Francine Rivers
Francine Sandra Rivers (born 1947) is an American author of fiction with Christian themes, including inspirational romance novels. Prior to becoming a born-again Christian in 1986, Rivers wrote historical romance novels. She is best known for ...
. It was produced by
Believe Pictures
Believe Pictures is a production company founded by partners Brian Bird, and Michael Landon, Jr. They have created (or co-created) major films such as ''The Last Sin Eater (film), The Last Sin Eater'', the ''Love Comes Softly'' film series and Sav ...
.
Plot
''The Last Sin Eater'' is a story that takes place in 1850s
Appalachia
Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ca ...
in a settlement community of
Welsh American
Welsh Americans ( cy, Americanwyr Cymreig) are an American ethnic group whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Wales. In the 2008 U.S. Census community survey, an estimated 1.98 million Americans had Welsh ancestry, 0.6% of the total U. ...
s. Ten-year-old Cadi's grief over the death of her beloved grandmother, the only person who seemed to love her unconditionally, is compounded by a previous family tragedy for which she believes her family blames her. During her grandmother's funeral rites, Cadi sees the face of the village
sin-eater
A sin-eater is a person who consumes a ritual meal in order to spiritually take on the sins of a deceased person. The food was believed to absorb the sins of a recently dead person, thus absolving the soul of the person. Sin-eaters, as a cons ...
, a person who absolves the deceased, at death, of their sins in this tiny Smoky Mountain community.
About the same time, a preacher comes to the isolated valley and camps outside the village. Through dialogue with the holy man, the young girl slowly realizes that the sin eater is false and learns of
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 religious ...
and
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
. Cadi's baptism leads to a reconciliation with her family.
But Cadi's new found faith leads to tragedy and confrontation as the close-knit community must finally face the horrific secret on which their village was founded.
Cast
*
Henry Thomas
Henry Jackson Thomas Jr. (born September 9, 1971) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor and had a lead role in the film '' E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982), for which he won a Young Artist Award and received Golden Globe ...
as Man of God
*
Louise Fletcher
Estelle Louise Fletcher (July 22, 1934 – September 23, 2022) was an American actress who portrayed the antagonist Nurse Ratched in '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (1975), which earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress, a BAFTA Award, ...
as Miz Elda
*
Liana Liberato
Liana Daine Liberato (born August 20, 1995) is an American actress. She played the younger version of the female lead in the 2014 film '' The Best of Me'' and starred in the drama films '' The Last Sin Eater'' (2007) and '' Trust'' (2010), the th ...
as Cadi Forbes
* Soren Fulton as Fagan Kai
*
Stewart Finlay-McLennan as Brogan Kai
*
Peter Wingfield
Dr Peter Wingfield (born 5 September 1962) is a Welsh-born television actor, well known for his television roles as Dan Clifford in '' Holby City'', Dr. Robert Helm in ''Queen of Swords'' and Inspector Simon Ross in ''Cold Squad'' but he is in ...
as The Sin Eater
Reception
Box office
''The Last Sin Eater'' was unsuccessful commercially. It was released in 429 theaters and remained in theaters for just two weeks. It fell far short of recovering production costs: according to
Box Office Mojo
Box Office Mojo is an American website that tracks box-office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way. The site was founded in 1998 by Brandon Gray, and was bought in 2008 by IMDb, which itself is owned by Amazon.
History
Brandon Gray began ...
the film grossed only $388,390 in these 14 days. However, the film earned $246,483 in its opening weekend (63.5% of total income).
Reviews
''The Last Sin Eater'' received mixed reviews. Matt Zoller Seitz of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' said, "Handsomely produced, earnestly performed and 100 percent irony-free, ''The Last Sin Eater'' is religious art for mainstream consumption." The review gave credit to the direction and photography, saying, "The movie is a big-screen Sunday school story with sumptuous scenery, graceful crane shots and Rembrandt lighting—designed mainly to impart and then repeat wisdom about guilt, sin and redemption—this can't really be considered a flaw."
Laura Kelly of ''
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
The ''Sun Sentinel'' (also known as the ''South Florida Sun Sentinel'', known until 2008 as the ''Sun-Sentinel'', and stylized on its masthead as ''SunSentinel'') is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as well as surrounding Br ...
'' said, "With its dulling straightforward pitch for Jesus, The Last Sin Eater seems like the worst of films from a non-born-again perspective."
Marjorie Baumgarten of ''
The Austin Chronicle
''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...
'' said of the direction of ''The Last Sin Eater'', "The camera always seems to be too far off when you wish to get a better look and too close when you wish that it would point at anything other than what’s in the frame."
However, Betty Joe Tucker of ''
Reel Talk'' was impressed by the cinematography, saying, "This extremely well-photographed film establishes a compelling 'you are there' atmosphere. It also boasts impressive performances by children and adult actors alike. Liana Liberato, who plays Cadi, is a real find. Because of the intensity and vulnerability she projects."
Additionally, ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' complimented the look of the film: "Pic was attractively lensed by Robert Seaman in Utah locales that adequately double for Appalachian mountain country."
See also
*
English-language accents in film – Welsh
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Last Sin Eater, The
2007 drama films
2007 films
Films about evangelicalism
Films based on American novels
Films directed by Michael Landon Jr.
2000s English-language films
2000s American films
American drama films