The Devout

This screening took place on Friday, February 12, 2016 at 4:30 pmYukon Arts Centre

This crisis-of-faith drama, writer/director Connor Gaston’s first feature, explores themes around reincarnation, faith and love. The film tells the story of Darryl (Charlie Carrick) and his wife Jan (Ali Liebert) a couple whose faith is tested when Darryl starts to believe that his very ill daughter (Olivia Martin) was an astronaut in a past life. This gives him hope that she might live again. Carrick delivers an intense and absorbing portrayal of an evangelical Christian whose faith isn’t offering him the inner peace he desperately needs while watching his little girl suffer. Liebert’s character is well-drawn, tossed around on waves of love and fear. Despite his overwhelming desire to grasp at any straw that might prolong his daughter’s life, Darryl must ultimately acknowledge the possibility that the spiritualist (David Nykl) he consults is a charlatan. The film thoughtfully delves into differing world views on death and transition and leaves the door open on the subject of past lives and reincarnation.