A DVD Review: Mandy Moore in an Independent Film with a Christian Youth Theme Called Saved

Mandy Moore leads a group of young Christian enthusiasts in their walk with the Lord in the independent film Saved, co-produced by Michael Stipe (lead singer of R.E.M.). Though this film maintains its punchy humor throughout, it also addresses serious Christian themes for youth and adults.

The popular crowd at American Eagle High School may seem like a tight knit bunch at first: prayer circles and carpooled rides to school; but when Mary becomes pregnant with her gay boyfriend’s child she begins to wonder if God really exists. And if He does, why is He ruining her life? She befriends Cassandra, the girl that Hilary Faye would most like to “save.” Together, Cassandra and Mary, along with Roland – Hilary Faye’s own brother, thwart the reign of head warrior for Jesus – Hilary Faye, and her attempts to redeem their souls (forcibly, if necessary). As Hilary Faye meets with more and more resistance, her owns soul begins to tailspin and the film gets funnier and funnier.

Saved is witty and clearly written by someone who knows the cliquey, holier-than-thou Christian sect. Obviously, all Christians are not like this. But we’ve all come across one or two, of a certain type, who will smile in your face while politely rattling off a list of your faults. You can’t help walking away from someone like this feeling that you should head straight home and begin packing your bags for your trip to eternal hellfire and damnation.

Hilary Faye is a spot on reflection of this type of Christian but director and co-writer Brian Dannelly insists on a healthy dose of melodrama and humor to make her a sympathetic character with redeeming qualities, in fact they all are. The characters are redeemed, if nothing else, by their sincerity. Each one is searching for certainty and reassurance that they are hearing God accurately; the more endearing and humorous moments are when one of the character’s gets the message wrong and acts on it.

Saved boasts an all-star cast including, Martin Donovan who has appeared in several Hal Hartley pictures and Mary Louis Parker who just won a Golden Globe for her role in the Showtime series, Weeds. Younger people will enjoy seeing Mandy Moore, Jena Malone, and Patrick Fugit who starred as William in Almost Famous.

If you like comedies or coming of age stories, this film’s for you. And don’t be thrown off by the title-there is no finger wagging of any kind in this picture.

DVD Special Features

Audio Commentary: Two commentaries are on this disc. One features director/ co-writer Brian Dannelly, producer Sandy Stern, and co-writer Michael Urban; the other features Mandy Moore and Jena Malone.

Heaven Help Us: A short look at the cast, writers, producers, and their thoughts on the film.

Deleted/Extended Scenes: 11 in total.

Bloopers: Four in total.

Saved Revelations: This is the best feature on the DVD-so funny! It tells what’s really going on in some of the scenes, what we don’t see (like what’s actually behind the book Roland is reading in one of the early scenes).