Unsung Hero (2024)

Director Adam Holz calls the film “a quietly remarkable story” and praises its refusal to airbrush the Smallbones’ struggles, noting that David’s descent into depression is portrayed with enough honesty to reach anyone who has wrestled with failure or shame. He describes Helen as “the unsung hero here”—the glue and “atomic connectivity” that binds the family together. Holz concludes that the film reminds viewers of a foundational principle: we need each other to walk with and trust God.

The review awards the film a strong Christian, biblical worldview rating, praising the “very good and convincing” writing and performances and calling out the playground “burn the ships” scene as particularly inspiring. It notes that the film is “tight” with “very few wasted scenes,” and concludes with David’s grandfather’s line as an emblem of the film’s wisdom: “Your family… they’re not in the way. They are the way.”

Reviewer  Daniel Blackaby approaches the film as someone self-admittedly lukewarm on faith-based cinema—which makes his appreciation more telling. He finds it “a feel-good story of family and faith bolstered by several strong acting performances,” and considers it perhaps the best film yet from Kingdom Story Company. His honest critique: the filmmakers are “reluctant to allow important moments to unfold without swelling background music,” riding the emotional line between moving and exhausting. Nevertheless, the family dynamic sequences win him over.

The review draws a direct parallel to the book of Job—a family losing everything, only to be restored and used by God “in marvelous new ways, including song.” It highlights the childbirth complication and David’s depression as handled with “uncommon” honesty for the genre and commends Daisy Betts’ portrayal of Helen as “loving, resourceful” and determined to keep the family together.

The film holds a 61% Tomatometer score from 36 reviews, alongside a remarkable 99% Popcornmeter from over 1,000 verified audience ratings

The film carries a 7.0/10 user rating.

Critic Courtney Howard praises the co-directors for “re-contextualizing character-building circumstances” into “a soul-stirring testament to the power of family and faith.” She singles out Daisy Betts’ performance as the film’s strongest element—an understated portrayal that “highlights hidden facets deep in the material.” Her assessment of Joel Smallbone’s dual role as director and actor is generous: placing himself in his father’s shoes “to fully understand a psyche in the throes of turmoil is quite the dynamic feat.”

Christy Lemire acknowledges the film’s warmth and effective casting—particularly Kirrilee Berger as Rebecca, whose resemblance to Betts makes the mother-daughter bond immediately credible—but finds Unsung Hero “blandly well-intentioned” for viewers outside the Christian music world. For her, the film “shies away from taking risks.”

Leslie Felperin gives the film 2 out of 5 stars, calling it “as bland as whole milk, but admittedly competently made,” and acknowledging that “the younger actors perform well without seeming too pert or excessively cutesy.” Her review is openly skeptical of the film’s faith-based framing.