A man of faith and a man of science find common ground in A Great Awakening. This true-life story is enhanced with strong performances even if the runtime feels pushed.
June 1787. The nascent United States of America is anything but. The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia is in near chaos. Delegates from the twelve former British colonies are arguing amongst themselves (Rhode Island did not bother sending a delegation). In the midst of all the bickering stands, or rather sits, Dr. Benjamin Franklin (John Paul Sneed). Dr. Franklin is known for his wit, which he does exercise on other delegates, albeit sparingly. For the most part, he sits in silence, concerned about how things are going.
He goes to his temporary residence, the home of his grandson Benjamin Franklin Bache (JT Schaeffer). Benny is in awe of his grandfather. He has also followed him into the printing business. Dr. Franklin is greatly worried about the fate of the Republic. Benny helps his grandfather with old papers. Amongst them is the biography of a long-ago friend, the Reverend George Whitefield (cowriter Jonathan Blair). Dr. Franklin now remembers.
Young George Whitefield (pronounced Whitfield) wants to be an actor. That is hard given he is blind in one eye and from the poorest of backgrounds. A strong voice and encouragement from another actor, however, helps Whitefield in his pursuits. He manages to go to Oxford as a servitor (someone who gets an education in exchange for serving a wealthier student). Whitefield struggles under their abuse but finds hope with a group of religious students. They are the Holy Club, headed by the Wesley Brothers John (Carson Burkett) and Charles (Caleb Hughes). George becomes at first religious, then a zealot. Eventually, he finds a passionate yet middle ground.
His powerful oratory brings him attention. His fervent faith will make him the enemy of the staid Anglican priesthood. He travels throughout Britian, preaching salvation to the lowest in society. It is now when he travels to America.
Franklin knows the name George Whitefield, his fame reaching even the New World. Franklin is a Deist, who believes in a God but believes that God is removed from men's lives. Despite their differences, Franklin and Whitefield begin working together. They soon become friends, though they are unable to change the other's point of view. However, there are struggles that both men cannot overcome either by faith or reason alone. The American colonies are chafing at British heavy-handedness. Despite his belief in the equality of man, Whitefield relies on slave labor for his cherished orphanages. Despite his efforts at virtuous living, Franklin does not shrink from keeping to missionary positions while serving on a political mission in London. It is here where Benjamin Franklin learns of Reverend George Whitefield's death in 1770.
All this, along with a surprise night visit from General George Washington (Russell Dean Schultz) makes Dr. Franklin decides to finally speak at the Convention. What are his words, and will he be heeded?
It is because after that, we then shift to George Whitefield's early years. It is almost as if we are getting two biopics almost rammed together. It is curious that Benjamin Franklin was only eight years older than George Whitefield. In A Great Awakening, they could pass for father and son. It is historically accurate in that Franklin outlived the younger man by twenty years. Yet, I digress.
A Great Awakening, cowritten by co-lead Jonathan Blair, Jeff Bender and director Joshua Enck, might have done better to trim parts of Franklin and/or Whitefield's backstories. They might also have done better by structuring their pasts up to their meeting with less detail. That seems a curious criticism. After all, A Great Awakening is about these two different men and the bond that they shared. I think that what I am getting at is that one starts looking at Whitefield's struggles with extreme self-punishment and then Benjamin Franklin pops in.
Charismatic is perhaps the best term to describe Jonathan Blair's performance. He does not make George Whitefield into a crazed preacher. Instead, Whitefield comes across as a man fiercely committed to his God while also having reason. This is not a humorless figure. He is not lighthearted. Instead, he is someone so rarely seen on film: a man of firm, solid faith who takes everyone at their value. Near the end, he does question why despite having worked together Franklin has never embraced Jesus Christ. It is not in terms of condemnation or damnation. Instead, it is in terms of concern and confusion. Blair gives George Whitefield respect without being reverential.
The same goes for John Paul Sneed as Benjamin Franklin. Sneed makes Franklin both the elder statesman of the Founding Fathers and a bit of a cynical rake. He is more amused and interested in how Whitefield can increase his Pennsylvania Gazette circulation than in Whitefield's words. Over the course of the film, however, we see Franklin showing respect and admiration for the man. He is able to stand to his own principles. Yet, we also see someone who, like Whitefield, searches for truth. It is a strong performance, one that makes Benjamin Franklin wise, witty and worried.
A surprising element in A Great Awakening that should be talked about more is the music. Chad Marriot wrote an appropriate score that keeps to the Colonial Era. What is surprising is that the film has an original hymn that works beautifully in the film. Awaken Us Today, which serves as the film's theme, is heard at a climactic moment when Franklin and the rest of Philadelphia first hear the fiery preacher's words. Awaken Us Today, which is also heard at the film's end, is an original song written specifically for A Great Awakening. The hymn is so perfect that it sounds as if it had been a traditional hymn adapted for the film.
I am reminded of when Aaron Copland adapted the traditional Shaker hymn Simple Gifts for Appalachian Spring. Here, it is the reverse. Copland used a traditional hymn and made it new. A Great Awakening with Awaken Us Today makes a new song sound traditional.
A Great Awakening does not shy away from the less pleasant aspects of Franklin and Whitefield. Franklin chastises Whitefield for using slaves despite his condemnation of slavery. The film subtly shows Franklin fooling around while in London. This is while he attends a production mocking Whitefield.
Minus some issues with its structure and length, I found A Great Awakening a well-acted, well-produced film about a little-known friendship that shaped American history. Benjamin Franklin is fond of quoting his father. "One tiny candle illuminates a thousand". The revolutions that Benjamin Franklin and George Whitefield started are still active today.
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