Guest Review: The Shack
Note from Adam - March is absolutely slammed with movie releases and we realized that there would be some that we couldn't fit into our review schedule. So we reached out to some listeners to see if they wanted to submit any guest reviews of the movies we were likely to miss. Destiny Spencer was kind enough to step up to the plate and give us her thoughts on The Shack.
The officially released synopsis for the movie tells us that the Shack will take us along on a father's uplifting spiritual journey. After suffering a family tragedy, Mack Phillips spirals into a deep depression causing him to question his innermost beliefs. Facing a crisis of faith, he receives a mysterious letter urging him to an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Despite his doubts, Mack journeys to the shack and encounters an enigmatic trio of strangers led by a woman named Papa. Through this meeting, Mack finds important truths that will transform his understanding of his tragedy and change his life forever.
Based on the best-selling 2007 novel of the same name, The Shack stars Sam Worthington, Octavia Spencer, and Tim McGraw and is currently in wide release. So without further ado, here's Destiny Spencer's thoughts on the movie.
I read The Shack a couple of years ago and have been anticipating the movie ever since. The experience of Mack’s encounter with God elevated my spiritual understanding and I hoped a movie would help others do the same. If you’ve ever wondered how God could let bad things happen to good people or just to people in general, this story may help you put it all in perspective. The story was so powerful for me that I had some anxiety about seeing the movie. I was concerned the story would get watered down, or it wouldn’t be well represented by the film's director and producers.
Fortunately, the movie didn’t disappoint. The characters were well developed and represented. The cinematography and vibrancy of the The Shack experience was remarkable. I don’t want to give too much of the story away so I’ll end with this; I think reading the book will enhance your experience whether you read it before or after the movie. The movie is impactful, but they left out what I think makes the story of The Shack most believable. They didn’t take the story clear to the end and because of this, moviegoers may view Mack’s experience as a delusion or hallucination that helped him process a difficult situation. I really do believe Mack encountered God on his way to the shack that day, and if you read the book you probably will too.