A Great Awakening – rated PG
****
This film tells the story of the unlikely relationship of Ben Franklin and evangelist George Whitefield, connecting that relationship to the Great Awakening, the American Revolution and the Constitutional Convention. The well-made and acted film was directed by Joshua Enck, who co-wrote the film with Jeff Bender and Jonathan Blair.
Franklin is played by John Paul Sneed. He was the tenth son of his father – his tithe. His father wanted him to be a pastor, but Franklin had no interest in that. He wanted to be a printer.
Whitefield is played by Jonathan Blair, one of the film’s writers. He was trained to be an orator, and had a powerful voice. While at Oxford, he met John and Charles Wesley. He was born again, and baptized, but most likely not by immersion as the film depicts.
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Franklin was interested in a preacher he heard about who was drawing large crowds outdoors, after being banned to preach in a Church of England church. The two struck up a deep friendship as Franklin offered to print (and profit from) Whitefield’s sermons.
Whitefield would plead with Franklin to come to Christ and be born again. The film seems to infer that Franklin was saved, but I believe that is historically inaccurate, as Franklin was a deist. Franklin was the one however, that recommended that each session of Congress open with a prayer.
The story is told by an old Franklin to his grandson looking back on his relationship with Whitefield. The story is book-ended with scenes from the contentious Constitutional Convention, with George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and others. Liberty a main theme in the film, which shows Whitefield’s powerful preaching.
The film shows Franklin doing an experiment to see how far Whitefield’s voice carried when he preached. Franklin estimated that Whitefield’s voice could be heard by as many as 30,000 people outdoors.
The film also shows the flaws of its main characters. Franklin is shown as being unfaithful to his wife. The film reveals that Whitefield used slave labor to support his orphanage in Georgia.
Sneed and Blair were excellent in their roles. The film also had good sets, costumes and music. A Great Awakening is an excellent film that we thoroughly enjoyed.
