The Shift

I saw the latest Angel Studios flick, The Shift, around noon. This retells the Iyyub story, as interpreted through evangelical Protestantism. I notice the soundtrack ripped its Leitmotiv, even subject, off Depeche Mode's best song . . .

The main character Kevin has made a series of choices throughout his life. Most of his choices were good ones... until the end. Yes it's another multiverse story, although without Butterfly Effect's time-travel - think more, Rick and Morty. At the end of this timeline, the best-Kevin-so-far meets him whom Tolkien named "Annatar". The Benefactor, as is his wont, offers to Kevin what he offers. Kevin refuses the gifts; the first time any Kevin has done so. In spite, the Benefactor exiles this Kevin, by "Shift", into a world wherein the Benefactor is - well, wherein he's the Prince. Although Kevin's act of refusal, it turns out, has exiled the Benefactor from that world too, for a time.

Several Protestant (and paraCatholic) themes show up. Is the Shift a form of Rapture? Is Kevin the Landwaster? - and, as in The Book of Eli or for that matter of Mormon, Scripture bears the Divine doxa more than does our Risen Lord. In Annatar's world, the Scriptures are banned (as are personal firearms, of course) and you only get to do shopping if you bear a special implant. Hey I caught that reference!

We have a "Heavenly Father" prayer early on. By this, my first thought was LDS [UPDATE 8 PM MST: Angel are LDS]. Then I considered the Synoptics - especially Matthew. A pendant of the empty tomb, aside its shifted outer rock, features; we don't get this in (say) John [and I daresay it's unimportant in LDS].

On the other hand this movie is not nearly as annoyingly fundamentalist (or Mormon) as I'd feared. Kevin spends his exile's downtime transcribing the Bible from memory - and his Bible-fu is not the best. One cannot help but consider how our own Bible came to the Maccabean-era Jews.

I feel like the story could have been made (back) into a Jewish story with small effort. In the Greek (or Islamic) version, Job is edited toward the virtue of patience. Kevin is hailed for that Ayyubi patience in this movie too ... but he's really not all that patient, just one trying to do the best he can. Annatar is the villain, as he must be; but he doesn't have to be evil. Contrast Hurley's portrayal in the more-Jewish Bedazzled. I feel like modern Judaism could use a story as showcases the Light To Nations, as opposed to the usual alternatives. Some might argue that lack of vision is a failing in Judaism itself. I shouldn't judge; I'm a converso.

Either way the script needed work. Kevin's illness doesn't affect the plot. He just coughs now and again to let us know he's Job on a producer's budget.