You’d need to have a lot of trust in people and in movies to like this one. Ordinary Angels is the true story of how a community came together to help a five-year-old in need of a liver at a time when her father was barely making ends meet, having just recently lost his wife to cancer. The film benefits from restraint; it’s not overly sentimental, despite its tragic premise, and has a great and grounded pair of leads in Swank and Ritchson. It’s old-fashioned too and recalls the Oscar-bait sort of films that used to fly in the ‘90s and early aughts—Swank herself is dressed like Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich. The only drawbacks of the film, really, are its unexplained motivations. Why is Sharon sacrificing so much time, energy, and money for this family? The film trusts that, because they happened in real life, her efforts need no expounding. But that leaves us feeling confused. There are also religious (Christian) references that might feel too heavy-handed for some viewers. But otherwise, the film is inspiring if occasionally cloying.
Synopsis
In Louisville, Kentucky, hairdresser Sharon Stevens rallies the masses to help widowed father Ed Schmitt save his critically ill 5 year old daughter Michelle after their community is hit by a major snowstorm from the 1994 North American cold wave.
Storyline
Hairstylist Sharon (Hilary Swank) dedicates all of her time and effort to helping Eric (Alan Ritchson)a recently widowed construction worker and his critically ill daughter.
TLDR
Maybe I’m just too cynical, but anyone else who wants desperately to believe in the goodness of strangers will be comforted by this inspiring true story.
What stands out
Maybe I’ve just seen too many true crime documentaries because of this job, but I too wouldn’t trust a perfect stranger to be alone with my toddler-aged daughters. Are you kidding me? And I also won’t be handing out my financial papers, thank you very much.