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Everyday Miracles (review) by Suzanne Mason

EVERYDAY MIRACLES

by Suzanne Mason

2020 hasn’t been the year we thought it was going to be. You might be looking for a faith-friendly, family film right about now. Maybe you need a message of hope, a dose of inspiration, or a reminder that people still care. If so, you need to check out EVERYDAY MIRACLES. Starring Erik Scott Smith (A Walk to Remember), Gary Cole (VEEP, Entourage), and Zoe Perry (Young Sheldon), this film is a great reminder that forgiveness and hope can be found in the most unlikely places.

In EVERYDAY MIRACLES, Cotton Welles, a reluctant faith healer, is on the run from his past when he’s taken in by Clay, a horse rancher, and his family. As Cotton’s newfound friends show him the better side of family with a dose of loving kindness and gentle spirits, he starts to open up to them and even begins to believe in love. But his manipulative mother discovers his location, tracking him down and threatening the tentative peace he’s found. Cotton is determined to leave his abusive mother behind, but when a devastating revelation comes to light, he discovers the truth about love and that family isn’t only bound by blood.

In a strange twist of God’s omnipotence, this movie was filmed and set to release in 2015 but eventually got shelved, only to finally be released now, during COVID-19.

I asked Erik Scott Smith, who plays Cotton, what the significance of this God-ordained timing means to him. “I think a lot of people are sitting at home, questioning a lot… Everybody’s trying to find the right path. There are two types of people: either the type who’re hungry for positivity and something good in life, or those who are going down dark paths and not coping well. This movie has a lot to say about which path you’re going down.”

This film highlights the difference between those paths, and the consequences of them, as well. “I think it needed to wait for this time [for the film to be released],” he concluded.

More than choosing a path, the themes of family, faith, and hope are also present throughout the film, even as Cotton struggles and has to make difficult decisions. “The characters have to go through these extreme moments to reach confidence to move on in their lives. At some point, you have to decide to move forward,” Smith told me.

And this is a very important subject for the actor, who explained that these themes are strong and align with his personal life. He described a tattoo he has that says “Every moment before now is the past” which reminds him “not to live in the scars of yesterday.” It’s a lesson that his character Cotton learns throughout the film.

And what does Smith hope audiences take away from this film? “I really hope that people who watch this movie are reminded that family can be anybody who has unconditional love for you,” Smith told me. “Family doesn’t distinguish between blood and non-blood when they help make you the best version of you.”

And isn’t that what we’re all ultimately striving for? To lean into the life God’s laid out for us, to become the best version of ourselves, and to find unconditional love along the way?

EVERYDAY MIRACLES is available now On Demand, Digital, and DVD.