Leap Of Faith

Leap Of Faith stars Steve Martin in a tour-de-force performance as the Reverend Jonas Nightingale, a con minister who trades souls for donations as he travels America’s heartland. His energy and charisma both on “stage” and off are pure entertainment. The story raises moral questions as the town’s poor and drought-ravaged inhabitants give their last dollar in their belief for salvation as Jonas turns up the heat and puts “meaning into their empty lives.” Interestingly, the technological tools used to faith heal are divulged in various scenes. The movie is a mixture of comedy, love interest, and true belief which results in the unexpected form of a real miracle, a serious counterpoint to Jonas flip attitude.