However, I noticed that last week’s offering, Firelight, was starring Cuba Gooding Jr.,
a favourite actor of mine. I decided to
give it a shot and taped it on the PVR.
The story is based on a real program in a girl’s youth correction
facility. The girls are trained to be
firefighters and do search and rescue. I
was braced for something overly saccharine but was pleasantly surprised.
The movie follows a young woman, Caroline, who is sent to
the facility after helping her boyfriend rob an electronics store. She is sullen and withdrawn, rude to the
staff. Gradually one of the other inmates,
a member of the firefighting crew, wins her over with steady support and
attention. Caroline starts to improve
herself, taking classes, severing her ties to troublemakers and in the last
fifteen minutes, joining the firefighting crew.
I liked the fact that the movie focused on her journey of
increasing self-awareness and her struggle to figure out what course of action
is best for her. There wasn’t a blurry
montage of weeks passing. Instead it was
drawn out, with setbacks included.
Changing yourself is a difficult job.
It takes time and a lot of effort and you still won’t always get it
right.
I also liked the fact that the firefighting crew wasn’t
portrayed as a cure-all for the girls.
One was released and ended up returning to the facility after committing
more crimes. Being on the crew wasn’t
enough to get parole for another of the girls who fled the scene after hitting
a pedestrian while driving and texting.
Caroline’s journey is about her getting the courage to try and improve
her situation, not about making a lucky draw in corrections programs.
It was the sort of inspirational story I liked. There wasn’t a happily ever after but there
was a possibility of a happily ever after.
I prefer that to a guarantee because in life, there’s always more after
the happily ever after. The difficulties
in getting there weren’t minimized and it wasn’t a success-only journey. I’m always more impressed with people who
admit they thought they might not make it than those who insist they always
knew things would work out. The
character Caroline isn’t sure what she should do. She’s afraid to try and fail, proving she
doesn’t have what it takes.
The story was a little shallow, but did very well for a
made-for-TV presentation. It was worth
seeing.
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