Gutsy and uncompromising in how it shows spiritual pressure inside a barely attended Memphis store front church, Jake Mahaffey's Free in Deed focuses on the level of desperation a person can reach before finally turning to God and his believers for help. Simultaneously, we also bear witness to the struggles the faithful face in their daily lives, and the lengths they will go to display their connection to the divine. The movie exists in areas of crumbling apartment complexes and little to no sunlight, which adds extra tension to the already difficult life of Melva (Edwina Findley Dickerson), a single mother whose son, Benny (an amazing RaJay Chandler), has a puzzling behavioral disorder. Doctors are unable to provide a clear answer and continue to prescribe more medication, none of which seems to make a bit of difference. It is during one of Benny's frequent outbursts that Melva meets an elderly woman (Helen Bowman) who wants to pray for her.
With nowhere else to turn, Melva goes to the woman's church, a tiny establishment where the soft spoken Abe (David Harewood) claims to have healing powers (he supposedly healed a woman's cancer with the power of God). Melva and Benny begin to make regular trips to the church for "cleansing" sessions, and while at first it looks like Benny might be calming down, things begin to get progressively worse. We get a glimpse into Abe's personal life as well, which consists of a thankless job and an overbearing mother. He seems determined to save Benny, his intentions nothing short of pure, as we see when he turns down a sexual advance from Melva.
Free in Deed captures the mood and atmosphere of the characters' surroundings with startling complexity. There are moments where we can practically smell the rotting walls of Abe's apartment building or the musty air floating in the church. The spectacular performances provide some occasionally tragic insight into the damaged souls of Melva and Abe. But the movie didn't resonate emotionally with me. Eventually, the pattern of events simply became exhausting, particularly in regards to the number of heightened scenes set in the church and Benny's repeated tantrums. These elements are important to the story, but their sheer excessive volume starts to feel divisive. In my eyes, they took away time to further develop these genuinely interesting characters and their dynamic. By the end of the movie, I was not as affected by the outcome as I should have been. There's no question Mahaffey is a talented filmmaker, and I admire the fact he doesn't provide any easy answers on the movie's stance regarding religion (I think there are several conclusions you could take). But I feel this would have been more effective as a short film.
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