“Leap of Faith” Is Visually Bold

Leap of Faith (Nicholas Ma, 2024) 3½ out of 5 stars

I grew up in the Episcopal Church, attending services every Sunday as a member of the St. David’s boys’ choir in Baltimore, MD. I loved following the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) system and singing the anthems, hymns, and more complex liturgical compositions, which provided me with a strong background in music theory plus training in how to use my voice. As time wore on, however, I became less and less religious, feeling that there is too much division in the world as a result of what is essentially an arbitrary accident of birth or circumstance.

In addition, I began to feel, as I do today, that all religions stem from the essential human need to make sense of the universe and craft narratives to lend life meaning. Whether a supreme deity exists or not, the way the residents of this planet express their faith in that being—via all their myriad beliefs—is a product not of any profound truths but of our dire need for existence to have purpose. God, in other words, is humanity’s creation, and not the other way around.

Nevertheless, religion is important to the majority of people on Earth, and one of the three great monotheistic faiths is Christianity. Despite the many schisms from the original iteration, which have given birth to a seeming plethora of denominations, all Christians ostensibly believe that a man named Jesus Christ, the son of God and the “virgin” Mary, died for our sins while crucified and, after three days, rose from the grave to ascend to heaven. From there, differences abound.

In Leap of Faith, a new documentary from Nicholas Ma (Mabel), a group of 12 Christian faith leaders from Grand Rapids, MI, gather over the course of a year to discuss how to peacefully manage these differences in opinion and doctrine. Led by Rev. Michael Gulker of The Colossian Forum—a Christian group devoted to promoting conflict transformation—these men and women engage in sometimes difficult conversations in front of the camera. The goal is not to change what they believe but how they handle disagreement. The hope is that they can then bring the lessons learned back to their congregations.

Unfortunately for one of their number—the Rev. Dr. Joan VanDessel, an openly lesbian woman married to her longtime partner—the biggest point of contention becomes the issue of gay marriage and associated LGBTQ rights. Though everyone is very polite, expressing themselves calmly, a majority of the assembled do not believe in same-sex couples uniting in the bonds of holy matrimony. Which is funny because, as a friend of VanDessel’s later states with a laugh, “There’s nothing queerer than the Holy Trinity.” Word.

Gulker struggles with the question, too, but as the father of nonbinary child he is more worried about being the best parent he can be for them. This recalls the challenges of the mothers from conservative religious communities who choose family over church in the 2022 documentary Mama Bears. It’s too bad that sexual and gender identities need cause such a fuss. God is purportedly all about love, after all. It is regrettable that so much time and attention is focused on gay marriage for another reason, which is that hearing from these pastors on additional topics—immigration, poverty, racism, climate change, etc.—would have proved equally compelling. Instead, we spend all our energy on one thing (though an important thing, for sure). That’s a major miss.

Leap of Faith features stunning cinematography (shot by four different camera people). Even the interiors showcase beautiful compositions and lighting. It makes for an engaging visual side to what is frequently a talk-filled movie. Evocative imagery like this is always what makes me (almost) believe in a higher power. I need no leap of faith to admire the grandeur of our world. Paired with the rest of the narrative, it holds our interest and helps teach us grace.

Christopher Llewellyn Reed

Christopher Llewellyn Reed is a film critic, filmmaker, and educator, as well as Film Festival Today's Editor. A member of both the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) and the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA), and a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, Chris is, in addition, lead film critic at Hammer to Nail and the author of Film Editing: Theory and Practice.