Review: Mr. Church

For his first film role in four years, Eddie Murphy is Mr. Henry Church, who has been appointed to drive Miss Daisy - correction, look after cancer-stricken Marie (Natascha McElhone) and her 10-year-old daughter Charlotte (Natalie Coughlin), better known as Charlie.

"Henry Joseph Church could have been anything he wanted," the grown-up Charlie (Britt Robertson) narrates in the opening voiceover, "He chose to be a cook." This may be factual - Mr. Church is inspired by the real-life experiences of screenwriter Susan McMartin - but this statement also comes off as woefully grating, sanctifying Mr. Church rather than humanising him. It bears remembering that this is less about Mr. Church himself and more about Charlie and how Charlie views this man who would come to be a friend and father figure.

At the outset, young Charlie is unaware of a great many things: that her mother is ailing, that a former lover named Richard has sent Mr. Church to take care of Marie during the six months that she has left to live and that all necessary expenses have been paid, and, most pressingly, who Mr. Church is and what he does once he leaves their home every night. She's tremendously wary of Mr. Church, pretending to hate his delicious meals but secretly enjoying them, and refusing to check out books from his makeshift library before developing an appetite for reading. Naturally, it isn't too long before Charlie lets her guard down and accepts him as part of their family.

Years pass - Marie has lived long enough to see Charlie off to prom and deliver a monologue that doesn't induce tears so much as jackhammer them out of your tear ducts. Charlie goes off to Boston University, her initial tuition paid for by the money Mr. Church saved from using her mother's coupons after all these years, and the two are separated until several years later when Mr. Church takes in a pregnant Charlie who soon gives birth to Izzy (McKenna Grace) and once again fashions a family of sorts with Mr. Church.

Much is made of Mr. Church's secret life, so much so that one is primed to expect some huge reveal - is he an alcoholic, an underworld kingpin, cooking and taking care of another white family? The fact of the matter is that Mr. Church simply wants his privacy - his time is his own, as he reminds Charlie in perhaps the sole instance when he's allowed to be something other than saintly. There's something discomfiting about Charlie's entitlement, well-meaning though it may be, especially when his whereabouts seem to be the only thing she makes any inquiries about. Neither she nor the script seem particularly interested in why Richard would essentially give Mr. Church to them. Also, how far ahead did Richard plan this since he's already deceased when Mr. Church arrives at Marie's house. Perhaps it's understandable considering the not-so-subtle undercurrents of slavery to be found in Mr. Church's situation.

Thankfully, Murphy's performance cuts through the treacle that the filmmakers insist on shoving down the audience's throats. With his trademark charisma on simmer in favour of warmth and dignity, Murphy manages to imbue some sharp edges to a character that basically serves to be the magical black man that guides a white girl through her coming-of-age.

Mr. Church

Directed by: Bruce Beresford

Written by: Susan McMartin

Starring: Eddie Murphy, Britt Robertson, Natascha McElhone, Xavier Samuel, Lucy Fry, McKenna Grace, Christian Madsen