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Christianity Today, November, 2007 |

Edgy Grace

Holly Hunter brings realism to new cop/angel drama.

Todd Hertz | posted 11/05/2007 08:48AM

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TNT's new cop drama, Saving Grace (Mondays, 10/9c), is like watching Touched by an Angel in reverse. While Touched followed an angel helping a new lost person each week, Grace flips the script to follow one of those lost people, an Oklahoma City cop named Grace Anadarko (Academy Award winner Holly Hunter in a passionate performance). That said, she's not going to see the light within an hour.

Molested as a child by a Catholic priest and feeling guilty about her sister's death, an empty Grace searches for anything to fill the void. She's a sex addict, an alcoholic, and a haphazard risk taker.

When her drunk driving kills a man, she cries out to God. But her angel, Earl (Leon Rippy), doesn't offer a quick fix. Instead he offers life with God, but Grace is too attached to her pain and pleasures to lay down her life. That means a long, down-and-dirty journey—with Earl's prodding and the support of a devout friend and a priest brother. (It's a relief to see Christians depicted as fair and loving on Grace.)

Show creator Nancy Miller told TV Guide, "We're not going to run away from anything about this woman." So there's a lot of realism and truth, and an appropriate rating of MA (mature audiences). The sex scenes are frequent, with nudity only barely obscured or blurred. Drugs, swearing, and drinking are common. Grace is a ticking time bomb of bad decisions, and thus can be hard to watch.

But unlike many shows investigating the emptiness of life, Saving Grace pairs it with hope. The routine cop plots are backdrops for the show's intriguing portrayals of souls who need saving by a mysterious God.

That makes for a strange animal. There may be too much darkness for some Christians and too much God for some non-Christians. So does Grace have an audience? Its nine-episode first season debuted in July as 2007's most-watched premiere on ad-supported cable. But ratings dipped considerably over the short season and reviews were mixed. In the second season, Grace—like its lead—may have to choose: darkness or God?

Todd Hertz, associate editor, Ignite Your Faith.

Related Elsewhere:

Christian Movies Today reported on the City of Angels Film Festival, where Nancy Miller, creator of Saving Grace, said, "We're all sinners like Grace (Holly Hunter), wrestling with God and his angels."

TNT's site has a recap of the first season of Saving Grace online.

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November 2007, Vol. 51, No. 11

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F Oliver

Posted: November 06, 2007 2:04 PM

I,too, watched the first episode and knew I could not stomach any more. I feel that however redemptive the message will turn out to be, as a Christian, I refuse to watch filth. We know, as the gospel song says "If He has to reach 'way down, Jesus will pick you up". Thank God that He saves the chiefest of sinners, and no case is too difficult for God! But I do not want to witness these acts. Ephesians 5:11-12 tells us: And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. I think an old-fashioned word is applicable in this case - disgraceful. CT should be on the side of some type of reproof or standard of righteousness in its reports, even if the secular film producers are not.

John Rich

Posted: November 05, 2007 1:29 PM


Good review. Saving Grace can be painful to watch; like a slow-motion trainwreck. You want to yell at Grace to just quit her evil ways. But that's the point: she, like us, is a sinner, and yet God, as represented by the Last Chance Angel Earl, reaches out to her. As He does to us all, if we but will meet Him in the middle.

RJ	Posted: November 07, 2007 3:11 PM

M Stuart's response reminded me of why I have problems with "Christians". He was so uplifting in his word choice. "Redneck Angel", "nasty, vulgar, bimbo" was his words. Then he has the fortitude to reference "resemblance to scripture". I can discern his usual understand of the New Testament! Hey, Stu, Danced with the "B-Attitudes" lately? I saw discipleship in the old movie Pretty Woman!! I saw a characteristic of God when the rich young business man saw through the prostitute's veneer and viewed her true self. Sound familiar?! Check out Luke 7:36-50. Jesus was a friend of Sinners! Can we be less?