Unsung Hero is probably one of the most inspiring Christian films I have seen since Courageous. Going into this experience, I had not really done any research into the film’s message nor its making. I knew Candace Cameron Bure was involved, but that was about it.

I went into the theater with one nagging thought in my mind, the question of just who exactly was the “unsung hero” of this story. That question became all the more compelling as the film began with “This is a true story” in text pasted on the screen. Since the film opens with David Smallbone, father of six (about to be seven) living the good life and promoting an Amy Grant tour in 1991 Australia, my focus was initially on him. Throughout the movie I was increasingly impressed with the performance of the actor, who I didn’t discover until later is the real David’s real-life son, Joel Smallbone.

For an actor whose credits include mostly music performances, I thought he played the role masterfully. Joel Smallbone is one half of the music duo known as “For King and Country”. The other half being his brother, Luke. Together, they were also part of the team that produced this film. Joel, acting in the role of his father in Unsung Hero, kept me consistently feeling an intense sense of sympathy for the man who had been providing so well for his family until he ran into a wave of bad luck brought on by the floundering Australian economy of the early 1990s. Indeed, Joel Smallbone plays his dad with a range of emotion that brings to mind some of the most powerful performances I’ve seen from some of the most seasoned actors. Mid-story, David begins showing signs of a shaken faith that leads down a path to desperation and lands in a pool of inconsolable grief after he faces a loss that wounds him even further.

Somewhere along the way, the main focus of this film begins to shift, or so it seems, to David’s eldest daughter Rebecca, as she begins to demonstrate some exceptional vocal talent. The manifestation of her abilities is shown in conjunction with her father’s descent into self-pity over the family’s impoverished state that begins with the financial loss in Australia and continues as David moves his family to the United States, expecting better things. When the proverbial grass proves not to be any greener on the other side of the ocean, David’s emotional and spiritual tale-spin continues, contrasted against the working faith of his wife Helen and the children, juxtaposed with the burgeoning recognition Rebecca is receiving and the sense that David’s financial failures are hindering Rebecca’s ability to secure a recording contract.

Kirrilee Berger, the actress in the role of young Rebecca Smallbone has a considerably longer list of credits than her on-screen father, but I was decidedly less impressed with her acting. That being said, her portrayal was not bad, and what she lacked in acting chops she made up for in vocal talent as she projected an innocently sweet and emotional rendition of a song written by the real-life Rebecca. Despite the strength of character shown by Rebecca Smallbone as she rose above adversity and her father’s loss of hope, I became convinced as the story progressed that she was not the “hero” I was looking for any more than David was. Even as Rebecca lent an impressively able hand to her mother as they nurtured the younger children, and following the revelation that young Rebecca Smallbone was none other than future Christian pop sensation Rebecca St. James, it was clear to me that the central character of this story was neither David nor Rebecca.

So, who was the “unsung hero” of the film’s title, if not David or Rebecca? Was it Amy Grant, who shrugged off the loss she and David incurred at the hands of financially shy would-be concertgoers? Was it 80’s CCM icon, Carman who tried to help David by offering him a contract in the states (though it ultimately fell through)?

Maybe it was Eddie DeGarmo of DeGarmo & Key. Although DeGarmo was one of those who dropped David Smallbone when he became aware of David’s apparent inability to successfully promote a big-name Christian artist, he did end up giving the Smallbone family a paid “gig” mowing and cleaning on his estate.  I wonder if the real-life Eddie DeGarmo is as portentous as he comes off on screen. Jonathan Jackson seems to play him that way. Though Eddie ends up being the one who offers Rebecca a contract through his new label, ForeFront, he presents on-screen as arrogant and pompous. Either way, I found Jackson’s portrayal to be a bit stiff and the obvious wig he was wearing looked like something off the clearance rack at Party City.

Could the unsung heroes have been the Albrights? Jed (Lucas Black) was the first one to notice Rebecca’s talent. He and his wife, Kay (Candace Cameron Bure) did give the Smallbones a van and paid off a $6000 medical bill. From a marketing standpoint, Candace Cameron Bure has been the face of Unsung Hero. Her character on the other hand, not so much. To her credit, Bure did not portray her character in a way that would overshadow the main characters or the message of the film. In fact, I didn’t even notice Candace behind the face, hair and thick Tennessee accent of Kay Albright until the second or third time she appeared on screen. Nope, not the Albrights, nor was it the church members who finally provided the Smallbone family with some furniture and other gifts at Christmastime?

In my opinion, the “unsung hero” was none of the above, but someone who, to my shame, went almost entirely unnoticed by me till nearly the end of the movie. But I’ll leave it at that and let you decide for yourself. Feel free to comment below or on Facebook if you’ve seen the movie and think you have it figured out.

Unsung Hero is in theaters now.