A call to awaken the warrior: a review of War Room
Image courtesy of the “War Room” Facebook page.
Ashley Silvey, Staff Writer
All warriors are not active duty soldiers and all fights are not limited to physical combat. “War Room,” a drama directed by Alex Kendrick and written in collaboration with his brother Stephen Kendrick, possesses the apparent intention of providing cinematic evidence of a realistic possibility.
The Kendrick Brothers provide the audience with not only a sense of spiritual inspiration but also a feeling of preparation for the war Christians are involved in on a daily basis. Throughout the film, an emphasis is placed on portraying the active power behind prayer and the unsurpassed greatness of the God who answers prayer according to His will and His timing.
For those who prefer films where confusion is limited and the plot is easy to follow, War Room is an ideal movie. The themes of forgiveness, grace and redemption are all implicitly and explicitly addressed in the dialogue of the characters as well as in the sequence of events.
The movie begins with Elizabeth Jordan, the female protagonist played by Priscilla Shirer, who is a realtor, a wife and a mother of one little girl meeting Miss Clara, played by Karen Abercrombie, an older lady who is attempting to sell her home to downsize and move in with her son.
More than a single meeting occurs between these two women and, during the second time together, Miss Clara introduces Jordan to her prayer closet, or her “war room.” It is in this small, empty room that prayer requests are plastered all over the wall and where answered petitions are framed. This, Miss Clara tells Jordan, is where she wages war.
There is no ambiguity for people outside of the church community in understanding precisely which battle Miss Clara is referring to. It is the spiritual war against Satan in his pursuits to steal, kill and destroy the relationships and lives of Christians and potential worshipers alike.
“To win the fight, you’ve got to have the right strategy and the right resources because victories don’t come by accident,” Miss Clara said.
Miss Clara becomes a mentor of sorts to Jordan and helps her by providing biblically sound instruction and guidance in how to commence the restoration of a struggling marriage and family status.
With a clear and comprehensible script that can be either highly amusing or entirely inspiring, the Kendrick brothers are proficient in constructing a plot that is spiritually encouraging and emotionally moving. In comparison to the previous works of the brothers like “Fireproof” and “Facing the Giants,” the cinematography has progressed immensely and the actors are phenomenal in depicting the depth of emotion necessary for the scenarios in the film.
The call to awaken the warrior within each and every Christian resounds throughout the entire film and has the power to echo in the spirits of the individual audience members long after the credits have rolled.
