Among the many most-viewed motion pictures on Netflix in early September 2025, the sappy faith-based parable Redeeming Love is neither romantic, redemptive, nor religiously correct. Loosely based mostly on the Biblical story of Hosea and his spouse Gomer, the story follows Angel (Abigail Cowen), a younger girl destined for a lifetime of ache and punishment after being offered right into a prostitution ring as a toddler in Outdated West California.
When hopeful salvation arrives within the type of a humble farmer with romantic advances, Angel should resolve to stay to her previous methods or start life anew. Alas, dripping Hallmark film schmaltz, unconvincing melodrama, phony sentiment, and a naive worldview, Redeeming Love is simply sure to evangelise to the transformed. Except viewers have learn the e-book it is based mostly on, Redeeming Love is basically a skippable affair.
‘Redeeming Love’s Premise Is Badly Misplaced in Translation
Based mostly on the bestselling 1991 novel by born-again Christian creator Francine Rivers, Redeeming Love is, in flip, impressed by the Biblical story of the prophet, Hosea. Set in California through the 1850s Gold Rush, the plot facilities on Angel (Cowen), a younger girl who was offered into prostitution as a toddler. Realizing nothing however a lifetime of abuse, Angel is stuffed with self-loathing and is consistently abused by the brothel’s Madam Duchess (Famke Jensen), Duke (Eric Dane), and its enforcer, MacGowan (Brandon Auret).
By flashbacks, Angel’s actual identify is revealed to be Sarah. The punishing reminiscences depict Sarah being abused by her father, Alex (Josh Taylor), who tells her she is nugatory and by no means ought to have been born. Akin to torture pornography, the vanity right here is to relentlessly brutalize Sarah so badly by way of repeated victimization tropes that she wants a heroic savior to come back and take her away. The more serious the struggling, the happier the salvation. Nevertheless, the profound non secular trauma is dealt with a lot better in a number of superior motion pictures.
Such a cardboard superhero arrives within the type of Michael Hosea (Tom Lewis), a easy farmer who falls in love with Angel at first sight, moments after begging God for a spouse. Michael vows to guard Sarah and ship her from evil by repeatedly proposing marriage to her. Unsubtle and means too heavy-handed, Sarah performs onerous to get, believing she doesn’t deserve happiness as a result of her scarred previous and infertility, a lot much less a celibate man who loves her like Michael.
Sick, icky, and unsightly to sit down by way of, telling a Biblical parable set within the 1850s might be not one of the simplest ways to problem Twenty first-century prejudices about “sex-work” (an anachronistic time period used within the film) and underage human trafficking, which really feel false and misplaced. But, the film’s plot solely will get extra ridiculous from right here as it really works means too onerous towards Sarah’s salvation and preaches concerning the trendy world with the advantage of hindsight.
‘Redeeming Love’ Will get Much less Romantic as It Goes
Redeeming Love‘s messy plot thickens with the arrival of Michael’s lusty brother-in-law, Paul (Logan Marshall-Inexperienced). Paul is immediately skeptical of Angel and calls for she have intercourse with him for a trip again to city after she ran away from Michael. With out spoiling each ludicrous plot level, Sarah believes she can not bear youngsters as a result of a compelled abortion she suffered as a toddler.
With flashbacks to rape, compelled abortion, verbal abuse, and teenage demise, it is onerous to search out any romantic redemption on this story. The film will get much more miserable when Sarah willingly returns to a lifetime of prostitution, solely to take a job in a café when the brothel is burned down. The brothel proprietor, Duke, forces Sarah again into prostitution (but once more) as a method to avoid wasting her boss’s job and threatens her life if she would not comply.
Ready within the wings is Michael, an angelic do-gooder who continues to be turned down for marriage by Sarah regardless of his confessions of affection. Within the sappiest of grade-school clichés, Sarah realizes she can not love one other till she loves herself, and eventually sticks up for these exploited by the Duke and Duchess. After all, so far as redemption goes, it is too little too late.
‘Redeeming Love’ Preaches to the Transformed Too A lot
The reception for Redeeming Love is basically divided between those that’ve learn the e-book and people who have not. Followers of the supply novel imagine the film is a trustworthy retelling. Lots of those that tuned into the film on Netflix on a whim, combined with movie critics, haven’t been so type. Preaching to the transformed with out convincing new believers, the film is something however redeeming or uplifting. Regardless of its streaming reputation, Redeeming Love boasts a tragic 11% Rotten Tomatoes score and a subpar 32 Metascore.
A preachy message film with no room to let audiences breathe between the bouts of violent abuse, by the point Sarah decides to higher her life and dwell fortunately with Michael, it is too late for the viewers to care a lot anymore. The lame, last-ditch effort to offer Sarah a cheerful ending as she lastly accepts Michael’s proposal whereas crushed and bedridden is finished in such poor style that there is nothing romantic or optimistic about it. The film is supposed to underscore the superior therapeutic powers of affection, however fails to courtroom these unfamiliar with the novel and Biblical foundation.