A fanatically pro-life evangelical minister grapples with the issue of gun violence after the 2012 death of Jordan Davis, an unarmed, 17-year-old African-American killed in Florida by a white man invoking the state’s “stand your ground” law. Davis’s death brings his mother, Lucia McBath, to Washington, D.C., where she pushes Reverend Rob Schenck, president of the National Clergy Council, to address gun rights from the pulpit. First-time director Abigail Disney effectively channels Schenck’s theological critiques of gun ownership but silences McBath, dulling the impact of her courageous efforts. No one mentions race until an hour in, so what should have been a focal point of the film goes largely ignored. But this is still a tale worth telling, and its bright moments shine through.
The Armor of Light
1 hour 27 min • 2015
