If you know me personally, you know I’ve been talking about this movie for weeks. I was thoroughly impressed with Russ Parr’s last film, “35 and Ticking”, so I was anxious to see this one. The cast is amazing as well and features some heavy hitters, such as Isaiah Washington, Lamman Rucker, Louis Gossett, Jr., Vanessa Bell Calloway, and Malinda Williams, just to name a few. Not only that, but as someone who grew up in the church and has my own thoughts regarding mega-churches, I wanted to see how this film played out.
I will admit the movie had some outrageous stuff, but at the end of the day, Russ did it again. This movie won me over; it was excellent. It was well-written, and the cast was amazing. Isaiah Washington plays rogue pastor L.C. Case. Based on the previews, I thought his character turned corrupt. Turns out he started that way. I won’t give the plot away, but I will say this film had some unexpected twists.
The main thing that I think audiences will take away is that corruption, greed, and power can turn good people bad, no matter where they are-the boardroom, the State House, or the pulpit. L.C. allowed his need for power affect ALL of his actions. He had a wife who loved him and a congregation that hung on to his every word, yet he abused them both. At the end of the day, instead of L.C. believing he was a servant of God, he thought he WAS God. Unfortunately, this can happen to people in the pulpit. And sadly, parishioners get caught up in the hype, too. They begin to worship their pastor and put him on a pedastal. When that happens, that never ends well.
Last weekend at the American Black Film Festival in Miami, “The Undershepherd” picked up numerous awards. And Russ is in talks with various distributors to bring the movie to the masses. Hopefully, you’ll be able to see it in a theater near you very soon. If the film does come to a city near you, I highly suggest you go see it. During the showing of the film last night at the DC Black Theater Festival, Russ made an appearance and answered a few questions. He also agreed to be interviewed for the blog, so don’t be surprised if you see an interview with him in the near future. 😉 Until next time, I’m just a Southern girl…in the city!
Related articles
- Russ Parr Knew His Film “The Undershepherd” Wouldn’t Be Accepted [EXCLUSIVE AUDIO] (therussparrmorningshow.com)
- Isaiah Washington Stars as Corrupt Preacher in The Undershepherd (brittanyblount.wordpress.com)
Southern Girl in the City 
“thoroughly impressed”. word?
Ha! Yes! You weren’t able to see the whole thing, but if you watch “35 and Ticking” from beginning to end, you’ll be surprised. And I didn’t have any expectations when I started to watch it; not sure if that affects my judgment. 🙂
I enjoyed it somewhat; on a scale of 1-10, I’d give it a 7. Some of it was a little over the top for me. I am a trustee at my church & some of the meetings do get a little heated so I could identify with that part but I had a problem with the pastor calling people out right from the pulpit, standing next to the guy, criticizing him b/c he didn’t tithe but had a new car at home and drove a hoopty to church. Those scenes were a little over the top.
Thanks for your comment, Linda. Yes, some things were over the top, but sometimes things like that (people getting called out for various reasons) do happen at church. And I think that happens when people lose focus of the purpose of church.
The undershepard was shown one day in the charleston sc area, then it was gone.