Director: Richard Rossi
Writer: Richard Rossi (Screenplay)
Starring: Rebecca Holden, Richard Rossi, Dana Lee Heising, Joe Gonzalez, Isaac Bar-Jonah, Jozy Pollock
Plot: ‘Canaan Land” is a love story between a charismatic con man preacher, Brother Billy Gantry, who falls in love with Sister Sara Sunday, a sincere Christian. She seeks to redeem Brother Billy, who manipulates the flock with fake miracles, including a stunt with gold dust and feathers he claims are from angels. The film is an unapologetic look at modern religion and televangelism based on the director’s personal experiences as a former faith healing evangelist.
Tagline – A lost preacher finds faith.
Runtime: 1 Hour 53 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Canaan Land starts as we meet Brother Billy Gantry (Rossi) a conman that travels the religious circuits looking for vulnerable women he can take advantage off in the name of the Lord. His latest target is the internet sensation Sister Sara Sunday (Holden) whose following is the biggest target he has ever targeted.
Billy does get close, finding his way into the circle, but he isn’t prepared for the investigation going on behind the scenes looking to expose his true behavior throughout the years, one that will ruin his reputation once and for all.
Thoughts on Canaan Land
Thoughts – Canaan Land brings us a look at how a conman could target a religious selection of people to make the most out of his life, tricking them into giving him money in place of fame. We see how the reputation will start to build up and lead to more people wanting to expose the truth about his actions. The story is shot in two styles, first watching Billy build his relationship for the con and secondly looking at how the investigation of people he has hurt is getting exposed. We could have had more on the investigation side of the story, as it comes off like it is being film side by side, but could have made a bigger impact. Richard Rossi in the lead role brings us the character that could sell anything to anyone. He also writes, directs and produces this film, showing his hand in everything involved in the film. Rebecca Holden takes the role of Sister Sara Sunday, the one person that will believe anything he is saying now, this is a role that shows us how easily the religious community might welcome people in to become the victims of con artists. The film will give the deeper message about doing the right thing, even if a certain character must learn the lesson the hard way.
Final Thoughts – Canaan Land is a film with a deep message that will need to be taught balancing religion and a conman.