The Book of Job is a bit of a Biblical Rorschach test.

Job is a prosperous man who always obeys and give thanks to God.  The Devil claims that Job’s faith is only due to the fact that he’s successful and has a large family.  The Devil boasts that, if he’s allowed to ruin Job’s life, Job will respond by cursing the name of God.  Instead of asking the Devil what he’s doing outside of Hell, God says, “Go ahead, just don’t kill him.”  The Devil kills Job’s family.  The Devil kills all of Job’s servants.  The Devil takes away all of Job’s wealth and afflicts Job with terrible sores.  Job’s friends tell Job that he should blame and reject God but, because Job refuses to do so, he is rewarded with a new family and even more servants.

Some people look at the story of Job and they see it as being a story about the importance of having faith, even in the most troubling of times.  Job refuses to surrender his faith and he is rewarded.  Even though Job cannot understand why bad things are happening to him, he refuses to surrender to despair and anger and puts his faith in the idea that God has a plan.

Others look at this story and see Job as a pawn in some private game between God and the Devil.  Job keeps his faith and is ultimately rewarded but his family and his servants still all die.  Job may be rewarded but why should he have to suffer just to prove a point to the Devil?  Indeed, what is the Devil doing in Heaven, debating with God in the first place.  I mean, the Devil got kicked out of that place.  He’s in Hell for a reason.

The 2015 film, To Hell and Back, is a modern-day retelling of the Book of Job.  Joe (Ernie Hudson) is a successful businessman, a man who built his company up from nothing and who now lives in a mansion with his wife (Vanessa Bell Calloway) and his five children.  Joe gives money to worthy causes and he is never without his Bible.  God and the Devil are heard in voice-over, debating the sincerity of Joe’s faith.  God agrees to allow Joe to be tested.  One tragedy after another befalls Joe and his family.  One son is killed during a burglary.  One daughter commits suicide.  A car crash leaves another daughter dead and another son in a wheelchair.  Joe’s company is driven into bankruptcy by a lawsuit while the last of Joe’s sons leaves to start his own company.  Abandoned by even his wife, Joe grows ill and soon finds himself homebound.

Even if the film leaves us wondering why God would hurt someone just to prove a point, To Hell and Back is a well-directed and well-acted film.  Ernie Hudson gives a heart-breaking performance as Joe, a man who always tries to do the right thing and is basically punished at every single turn.  Joe definitely deserves better than to just be a pawn in a cosmic waver but at least Ernie Hudson gets a chance to show off what a good actor he can truly be.