Last week, I had the privilege of heading to New York City for the premiere of Lionsgate and Kingdom Story’s new movie The Unbreakable Boy. At the most literal level, it’s about a boy who’s anything but unbreakable. Thirteen-year-old Austin suffers from Brittle Bone Disease, and he’s endured dozens of breaks in his young life. On top of that, Austin is on the autism spectrum.
You might think that would be enough to capsize him emotionally. But not Austin. Instead, we get a portrait of an adolescent whose irrepressible optimism in the face of ongoing suffering—physically, emotionally and relationally—is utterly unsinkable. His dad, Scott (played by Zachary Levi), however, struggles mightily with the challenges his son’s issues present, even turning to the bottle to cope.
That mix of elements makes for a dramatic, funny, poignant and gritty story—one that may very well end up on our Best Christian Movie list for the Plugged In Movie Awardsnext year. I had the chance to talk to some of those involved with the film at the premiere, both in front of the camera and behind it, before the film started. You can see a montage of some of those moments from the black (not red!) carpet before the event below.
I asked each person I talked to what they appreciated most about this story and what they hoped audiences would take away from it. Here are some of those responses:
Drew Powell, who plays Joe, Scott’s imaginary friend: “I get emotional thinking about this film because it’s so special, because it focuses on a normal family. … Look, superhero movies are great. It’s great to have these incredible movies about these people who did these extraordinary things. But it’s also great to have a movie about folks that are going through the stuff that we’re all going through. And so, my friends that are parents—even the ones that aren’t—will have moments in this movie where they’re going, ‘Yes! Of course! I’ve been there. I know what that’s like.’ So that’s why it’s so special to me. I think about these people in my life, that particularly are parents of special needs kids, and how they will feel when they watch this, and I hope they’ll love it. Because we made it with so much love for them.”
Peter Facinelli, who plays Preacher Rick: “When I read the book—and I’m a dad myself—to me it was about a dad who feels like he’s failing all the time. And I’ve felt that sometimes with my own kids. Like, ‘Am I doing this right?’ And in the book, Scott realizes his son has more to teach him about love and life than anything. In a relationship between parents and kids, you guide them, you teach them. But they also have so much to offer to teach you, too. … And I also love—and I haven’t seen this in a movie before—where the movie [story] is kind of told from an autistic child’s perspective. And I thought that was really interesting. Because what a wonderful gift that Austin has to see the world and see the joy in almost everything. And when you talk to Austin, his superpower is that he cannot lie. He tells you, ‘The one thing about me is that I can’t lie.’ And I love that. I love that he’s so authentic. He’s so real. He’s such a beautiful light. What a joy to be around, and so infectious. So when people go see the movie, I hope they take that with them.”
Patricia Heaton plays Scott’s mom. She said of her involvement with The Unbreakable Boy, “It’s been great to … do a beautiful movie about something that a lot of families are struggling with, having their kid be on the spectrum or just have learning differences, and how parents struggle to cope with that. You know, parenting generally can be very stressful. When you add in these extra issues, it’s tough. So to be able to bring a movie to the screen where parents can see their struggle realistically portrayed, but to have hope and redemption at the end is so important.”
Writer and director John Gunn spoke at length regarding his hopes for the film and its impact on audiences: “I hope first of all that it’s a movie that just fills your heart. It’s funny, and it’s charming; but it looks unflinchingly at the challenges of life, of parenthood, of personal struggles. It’s a movie about gratitude. And to me, that’s one of the greatest messages to share, learning that lesson to be appreciative of the things that we have even when we’re struggling. It’s also just funny and magical … and unafraid to look at the imperfections, the fears that we have as parents that we’re failing. So I loved everything about the message of it, the exploration of it. And it was so much fun to make and such a joy to watch.” He also added, “As a parent, you feel so much like you have to fix your children—all their problems and all their struggles—but the truth is, we heal each other. We learn just as much from our kids as they learn from us. And I think in this particular case, Austin taught his father gratitude.”
Finally, Kingdom Story CEO Kevin Downes said, “I’m always passionate about producing a film and making stories that I wholeheartedly believe in, which is why you see a lot of common emotional threads with films that Kingdom Story puts out. Because if I don’t believe in a film and a story, I don’t really want to do it. I love inspiring underdog stories. You know, we take films that showcase the power of the gospel and then inspire people with a rush of hope. That’s what we’ve been doing for the last eight years that we’ve been in existence. That thread is throughout all of our films. … [The Unbreakable Boy] is a story of selfless love, many relationships exhibiting this attribute of selfless love. And to be able to love one another in a way that might not be expected or deserved, we see that played out in the film in all the relationship dynamics. I hope that people realize, like Austin says, ‘Every day has the potential to be the best day ever.’ It’s true.”
If you’re interested in checking out The Unbreakable Boy, be sure to check out Paul Asay’s excellent review of it first.
