I watch a lot of films, some years more than 500, and there's is little I enjoy more that a well crafted film. I tend to read about what I'm going to watch as I get pretty annoyed if I feel I've wasted my time. By the end of this movie I was quite offended. Where to begin? Let's begin with the main character, John's mother, Joyce. She could not be a more off putting human being. Controlling, judgmental, overbearing and a little bit racist ("the rapper was a bit much don't you think?"). Rude to everyone she comes into contact with throughout the movie, she berates the medical professionals who are trying to save her son. By the end of the third act I was rooting for the diabetic coma she was in to finish her off. Topher Grace as the "hip" pastor was equally unlikeable. A walking cliche, his poorly acted character comes across as mainly creepy and invasive. Joyce's husband was the character I identified with most in this movie. He seemed like a real human being, flawed and struggling. The added star (2nd) is for John. The kid that played him did a nice job. He was solid in his role, his acting was the best in this film. We can move on to the medical inaccuracies that permeate this film. The first doctor the dealt with an unresponsive John basically threw his hands in the air and gave up after 2 minutes of CPR, this is ridiculous. This kid would be worked on for hours, intubated, put on a respirator and any doctor that behaved this way would lose his licence. Not long after it's stated that "nobody in John's situation has ever survived". Would you like to explain that to the nine patients who survived hypothermic cardiac arrest between 1999-2013. In reality many people have survived prolonged submersion in very cold water, some showing no lasting ill effects. By now, if you've bought all that malarky, you probably do believe that the hand of god is the only thing that could possibly be responsible for John's survival. This is where the movie takes us, the power of combined prayer (and amazing singing by the random townspeople) is what wholly saves John. Of course it had nothing to do with expert medical care as Joyce made most of the decisions about what was best medically for John (although after seeing that first doctor's work it was probably for the best). This is not a question of belief, i happen to believe there is a god. This is a question of whether this movie makes any sense...it does not. I watched this in a hotel room on HBO, nothing else was on. I feel as though I need to read a good book to restart my brain. This is just a bad movie. BAd writing, bad acting, unlikeable characters. It did accomplish one thing, I know how John felt. My brain feels numb, as if it's been submerged in freezing water for 15 minutes.