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Losing someone close can bring up a lot of difficult emotions, particularly if that person dies in a violent manner. There can be sadness, anger and frustration, all of which can lead someone into dark places. That dynamic is explored in Bob Ahmed's film "Adam's Fire." Taking place in the hills of West Virginia, this film examines grief and forgiveness in a beautifully nuanced way.
When Adam (Hudson Barry) loses his mother to a gun accident, he feels rage toward the woman (Jennifer Marshall), a military medic in the midst of a PTSD attack, who shot her. As he and his father, Dan (Chris Alvarez), sort through their feelings about the situation, Adam forms an unexpected friendship with Mariam (Zahra Jamal), a young Muslim girl who is visiting for a few weeks. As these two become friends, bonding over a shared love of taekwondo, they begin to help one another heal from the loss of a parent.
"Adam's Fire" has a lot of irons in the, well, fire, but what is impressive is the way that the various storylines work together. We have a child who watched his mother die from a gunshot and has to see the woman who shot her right next door. A father who wants to protect his son, but also has to face some of his own prejudice. A woman experiencing PTSD from her time in the military, and now has to deal with the aftermath of shooting one of the few people who were kind to her after her return. And a therapist who is trying to make amends for failures close to her. It is a lot to manage, but the way their stories weave together is truly beautiful.
While the dialogue is a bit cliché at times, it never treats the characters or the subject matter flippantly. Plenty of movies want to tackle difficult issues like those in "Adam's Fire," with a pithy statement about forgiveness or faith, without actually addressing the characters' emotional state. One of the movie’s most impressive elements is its willingness to go deeper than a cross-stitched quip on a decorative pillow.
Of course, the big draw for me was that "Adam's Fire" was filmed here in West Virginia. Cinematographer TinNgai Chan does a phenomenal job capturing the state's natural beauty. The movie was filmed at a farm in Lost Creek, and the setting shows off the state in a flattering way. Watching two kids practicing taekwondo in the middle of the rolling hills of West Virginia is a lot of fun. Complementing the cinematography is a script that shows off the kindness found in the state's residents.
Death is difficult. Changing the way that you think is difficult. Moving on from trauma is difficult. "Adam's Fire" never pretends that any of these things are not true. Instead, it reminds us that forgiveness, kindness and empathy are still worth pursuing, even in the midst of the unthinkable.
Rating: 4/5
Alise Chaffins is a freelance and Tomatometer-approved film critic.