Blu-ray Review: LIFEMARK

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Dec 30, 2022 Posted by Kyle Nolan in DVD/Blu-ray, Reviews | Comments

Jimmy (Kirk Cameron) and Susan Colton (Rebecca Rogers) had lost both of their two natural born sons when they were each less than 2 months old, due to a genetic disorder. They had tried to adopt over the years, but had had several experiences with the birth mothers backing out after the baby was born. But their dreams finally came true when teenage couple Melissa (Marisa Lynae Hampton) and Brian (Iain Tucker) selected them to adopt their son. David (Raphael Ruggero) has just turned 18, and is now legally old enough to reach out to his birth parents if he wants to. The fact that he was adopted isn’t something he really shared with others, and he doesn’t want to make his parents feel like he loves them less if he decides to meet his birth parents. However, Jimmy and Susan are more than encouraging of the idea of him meeting the people who gave them the greatest blessing they could imagine, and chose life for their son. A now grown-up Melissa (Dawn Long) is also very eager to meet the son she gave up all those years ago, but Brian (Lowrey Brown) is a bit hesitent—he has never even told his wife that he previously had a son. But after much deliberation, David decides to head to Indiana to finally meet his birth parents, bringing Jimmy and Susan along for the reunion, and kooky best friend Nate (Justin Sterner), an aspiring filmmaker, along to document it all.

Lifemark is inspired by and based on a true story, depicted in the documentary short I Lived on Parker Avenue. It is an emotional movie that will certainly bring happy tears to your eyes. The film constantly flashes back in time, looking at David’s parents in 1999, grieving over the loss of their two boys and worrying about getting their hopes up for adoption, only to then receive the best news of their lives. Meanwhile, young, pregnant Melissa and her boyfriend are struggling to figure out what course to take as they are not ready to raise a child. They ultimately decide to have the baby and give it up for adoption, but then this leads to the tough decision of who to give the baby to—but once they see the Colton’s “Dear Mommy” letter, the choice becomes clear. In the present, there is the struggle for the birth parents, worried that David will hate them for what they did, and David’s worries about disappointing his own parents. However, when they go through with the reunion, it is a tearful celebration of love, life and family.

Despite often being a tearjerker (though in a happy way), the film also has a lot of humor, much of this coming from the Nate character, who dials his job of videographer up to an 11. The cast is for the most part really good, especially the young struggling couple and the older characters. I actually didn’t even recognize Kirk Cameron at first (I probably haven’t seen him in anything since Growing Pains). Jimmy and Susan are practically aged up for the present day sequences and digitally aged down for the flashbacks—it was only then that I realized Kirk Cameron was playing Jimmy. I think the effect was generally quite well done. The faces end up slightly flat and less detailed. , but this is masked a bit by the stylized look of the flashbacks. While I enjoyed Raphael Ruggero’s performance as David, there seemed to be a general lack of emotion in him, especially when compared to the others that were part of this tearful reunion. Perhaps this is accurate to how the real David reacted to the situation, but either way, there is one scene near the end of the film where he finally breaks his usually stoic nature to let the emotion flow, and its very effective.

The film definitely has a pro-life message and some religious undertones—such as characters saying “Why is God letting this happen to me?”—but it generally does not feel extremely preachy. It is more focused on celebrating life, family and love, rather than condemning those who choose a different option. That said, there is one scene where Melissa hints that she almost made a “horrific choice”, and there is a more heavy handed scene at the end of the movie depicting the harrowing experience of visiting an abortion clinic. This is probably not the film for those who are easily offended about this topic. However, those folks could just skip the final 10 minutes of the movie and still enjoy a very solid, emotional drama, with some fun elements of humor sprinkled in.

Mill Creek Entertainment’s Blu-ray release of Lifemark looks and sounds great. The picture is generally very clean and clear with an excellent level of detail. The flashbacks have a slightly hazy look, which is likely what the filmmakers were going for. The film’s emotional score really fills the room, and there is nice use of the surround channel to add ambiance to the movie—there are a lot of outdoor activities in the film. The dialogue remains clear throughout.

The Blu-ray disc comes packed in a standard HD keepcase with a cardboard slipcover. The disc includes over 40 minutes of behind-the-scenes interviews with the cast/crew/real people depicted in the movie, some other featurettes about people who did/didn’t choose adoption, 7 deleted scenes, a blooper reel, a fun cast/crew music video, the theatrical trailer, and some trailers for other Kenrick Brothers releases. Some of the bonus material gets a bit preachy at times, and feels more like PSAs. I would have liked to have seen the original documentary short the film was based on, I Lived on Parker Avenue, included on the disc instead of some of those, but perhaps there were rights issues. However, it is available to watch via YouTube.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:44:50)

1080p / Widescreen 2.35:1
Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Subtitles: English SDH

Extras:

The Heart of Lifemark (3:43)
The cast and filmmakers discuss the inspirational true story of how a life was saved, the adventurous outdoor activities in the movie, the humor, how scripture promotes adoption, and more. Includes interviews with executive producer Stephen Kendrick, executive producer Kirk Cameron (“Jimmy”) & executive producer/writer/editor Alex Kendrick.
Lifemark Panel Discussion (10:08)
In this discussion titled “Responding with Compassion”, Stephen & Alex Kendrick sit down with Kirk Cameron, talent coach Shari Rigby & president/CEO of Care Net, to discuss their own experience with adoption and/or abortion, how they were not trying to make this a political movie, how to spread compassion to your community, and more.
The Making of Lifemark (19:05)
The cast and filmmakers discuss how the film came about after watching the documentary, working with new and longtime crew members, casting the movie, the morning devotions, cliff diving, the ATV race, the wrestling scene, skydiving, the reunion, the sets, de-aging the actors, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, de-aging examples, red carpet footage, and interviews with executive producer Kirk Cameron (“Jimmy”), executive producer Alex Kendrick (“Shawn”), executive producer Stephen Kendrick, writer/director Kevin Peeples, producer Aaron Burns, line producer Justin Tolley, stunt coordinator Chris Wilks, 1st assistant director Adam Drake, director of photography Bob Scott, Melissa Coles (The Real Melissa), David Scotton (The Real David), and stars Justin Sterner (“Nate”), Rebecca Rogers Nelson (“Susan”), Marisa Lynae Hampton (“Young Melissa”), Stephanie Parker (“Azure”), Raphael Ruggero (“David Colton”) & Dawn Long (“Melissa”).
The Power of Adoption (3:43)
The cast and filmmakers discuss the significance of the adoption option, the impact the documentary and film have made, and their own adoption experiences. Includes interviews with executive producers Stephen Kendrick, Kirk Cameron & Alex Kendrick, Melissa Coles (The Real Melissa), David Scotton (The Real David), and star Rebecca Rogers Nelson.
Meet the Real People (3:52)
The real people portrayed in the movie talk about meeting their film counterparts and seeing themselves portrayed on the screen. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with executive producers Stephen & Alex Kendrick, , the real David Scotton and his parents Jimmy & Susan, David’s birth mother Melissa Coles, and stars Raphael Ruggero, Dawn Long & Kirk Cameron.
The Beauty of Redemption (9:21)
Acting coach Shari Rigby talks about her own experience with abortion, and finding God, grace and redemption.
The Gift of Elijah (8:55)
Filmmakers Paul and Kelsie Anderson share the story of their son Elijah, who brought a lot of joy into their, even if just for a short time.
Deleted Scenes (8:37)
Seven deleted scenes play back-to-back. These include
- “The Clinic” – Young Melissia and Brian visit the abortion clinic.
- “The Nursery” – Susan looks at the empty nursery.
- “Sharing Letters” – Susan and Young Melissa write their final update letters to one another as David turns 1.
- “Anesthesia” – David acts a bit loopy after receiving the anesthesia for his operation.
- “The Scar” – David looks at his post-surgery scar in the mirror.
- “The Gift” – David has a tearful goodbye with his sister, and gives her his crucifix necklace.
- “The Speech” – David gives a Pro Life speech about his birth parents’ experience at the abortion clinic.
Bloopers (3:31)
Laugh along with the cast and crew as they crack each other up, miss their marks, and have fun on set. There’s also a practical joke callback on Kirk Cameron.
Cast & Crew Music Video (4:39)
Behind-the-scenes footage of the cast and cast and crew lip-syncing and dancing compiled into a music video for “Remain” by Royal Tailor.
Theatrical Trailer (1:45)
Courageous Legacy Trailer (2:21)
Show Me The Father Trailer (2:15)
Overcomer Trailer (2:14)
War Room Trailer (2:13)
Focus on the Family Homecomings (2:00)
PSA for the Focus on the Family support group.

Final Thoughts:

My Rating

Film:

Video:

Audio:

Extras:

Recommended

Lifemark is an entertaining emotional drama about love, family and the gift of life that doesn’t really feel heavy-handed with its pro-life message until the final 10 minutes. Those who are easily offended by these types of things may want to steer clear, but the film up to that point is a solid drama that anyone should be able to appreciate, and it would be a shame to miss out on it. Mill Creek’s Blu-ray looks and sounds great, and includes a large selection of bonus material. While I enjoyed the making-of featurette, deleted scenes, blooper reel, and music video, some of the other featurettes feel more like PSAs and got a little too preachy for my taste. I would have loved to see the original documentary that inspired the film included on the disc, but unfortunately it didn’t make the cut (though it is available to watch for free on YouTube). This Blu-ray is an easy recommendation for anyone looking for an inspirational and (happy tears) tearjerker with some laughs.