In 2017’s Run, Levi (Josiah David Warren) marries Natalie Winters (Taylor Murphy). Natalie is a journalist who has made it a point to report on the growing problem of human trafficking. Her journalism makes her a target for low-life criminals like Jeff Connors (Stephen Baldwin). On their wedding night, Natalie is abducted by two men who are planning on selling her into sex slavery.
The police are useless. So is the FBI. It looks like Levi is going to have to rescue his wife on his own. While Natalie prays in the back of the van in which she’s being held prisoner, Levi hits streets, putting up missing posters and talking to motel maids.
Now, I’m going to post a spoiler here. You can stop reading now, if you want. Otherwise, you have been warned.
Levi does find his wife. He finds her because he just happens to be in the parking lot of a Florida motel when a maid walks by wearing his wife’s scarf. She tells him that she found it in a room. (No judgment from me! For one summer, I lived in a motel with my mom and my sisters and my mom paid for our board by working as a maid. Apparently, people leave stuff behind all the time.) The maid then goes on to say that she saw the van pulling out of the parking lot. She gives a perfect description of the make and the model. She recites the license plate number without hesitation. She then tells Levi exactly which street the van went down and which direction they were heading. Levi then manages to easily track the van down and get the police involved.
WHAT LUCK!
I mean, seriously, for all the time that this movie devoted to Levi trying to find his wife, it all comes down to one maid finding a scarf. I’m sure that some would argue that this is meant to be proof that God arranged for the maid to be in that parking lot at the exact same time as Levi. That’s fine. In the movie, it comes across as being a huge dues ex machina …. which is exactly the same thing, now that I think about it.
Anyway…..
Josiah David Warren has directed a handful of faith-based films and I have to admit that, as a reviewer, I haven’t always been kind to them. Warren’s biggest mistake is that he always casts himself in the lead. He’s not a particularly good actor and, with his perpetually tired expression and unshaven appearance, he tends to come across as being more a stoner than a preacher.
While that continues to be true here, Run is still better than the average Josiah David Warren film. The plot is full of contrivances and the editing is haphazard but Taylor Murphy gives a sympathetic and likable performance as Natalie. For that matter, the often-mocked Stephen Baldwin is convincing as the cocky and dangerous Connors. Baldwin doesn’t get much screentime but he sets a wanted poster on fire with skill and style.
Finally, I appreciated that the film ended on a note of forgiveness and redemption, indicating that there’s hope for everyone. That’s a good message and not one that seems to be particularly popular right now. The film deserves credit for that.
