Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Redeeming Love’ On Peacock, Where A Christian Farmer Falls For a Hooker with a Heart of Gold

In Redeeming Love, now streaming on Peacock, a mistrusting hooker with a heart of gold catches the eye of a God-loving farmer who makes it his mission to rescue her from the depressing brothel she calls home. Starring Abigail Cowen of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, up-and-comer Tom Lewis, and Euphoria‘s Eric Dane, this Christian romance tries to convince its audience of the power of prayer (and all that other good Jesus-y stuff). 

REDEEMING LOVE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Angel (Abigail Cowen) is the highest-priced prostitute at the Pair-o-Dice; a crowd of hopeful men gather daily outside the brothel in the hopes of getting a few minutes of her time. It’s the 1850s in California and the Gold Rush is in full swing; Angel and her fellow sex workers are paid in gold dust, and it’s all over seen by the Duchess (Famke Janssen), who predictably doesn’t pay them their fair share. Angel – who we soon learn is actually named Sarah – was perhaps destined for this hard life, having watched her unmarried mother fall into the world of sex work during hard times. She’s been abused in just about every single way a person can, and it’s hardened her to the world and everyone in it. That is, until she meets Michael (Tom Lewis).

Michael, a God-fearing farmer looking for someone to spend his life with, spots Angel on a walk one day and knows immediately that she’s supposed to be his wife. Angel initially rebuffs his attempts to take her away from the Pair-o-Dice, but when he appears again after she’s been badly beaten, she accepts his offer to become his wife and leave this life behind. Michael is patient with Angel as she adjusts to this new existence and learns to trust for the first time in her life, and little by little, she opens her heart to him. When someone’s been hurt as much as Angel has, however, starting fresh isn’t as easy as it might seem.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Some other soapy, faith-based romances include I Can Only Imagine, I Still Believe, Home Sweet Home, and Running for Grace, though Redeeming Love is just a liiiittle sexier than these titles.

Performance Worth Watching: In a movie full of over-actors and forgettable faces, Abigail Cowen is a dream as Angel, living up to her character’s heavenly name. She’s only starred in a handful of projects, including I Still Believe, Stranger Things, and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, but her performance in Redeeming Love makes a very convincing case for her to become a massive star. She’s got the kind of face that translates to both period dramas and contemporary stories, and she’s relentlessly charming (even when she’s rejecting the guy we know she’s going to end up with). Cowen is simply lovely.

Memorable Dialogue: Angel’s line about how she “never looks back” and “never looks forward” made me laugh, because there are so many flashbacks in this movie – and so many moments where she relives her trauma – that the line makes no sense whatsoever.

Sex and Skin: There are many implied sexual encounters and a few more romantic sex scenes on-screen, though they’re all pretty tastefully shot.

Our Take: Clocking in at a painful 2 hours and 14 minutes, there is very little that is redeeming about Redeeming Love. We watch our leading lady endure just about every abuse there is at the hands of multiple men; from her cruel father and the devilish Irish duke (Eric Dane), who buys her as a child and pimps her out, the gal can’t catch a break. She’s sexually abused as a child, endures forced abortion and sterilization, is drowned, beaten, and smacked. It’s hard to watch, especially given that her eventual rescue and redemption also come from men – Michael and the man upstairs. (Yeah, God). And even her relationship with Michael feels a little gross, since she has no choice in the matter when he pays to come see her during their first few encounters.

The script takes its sweet time walking us through Angel’s trauma, too, even after we’ve pretty much gotten the picture. It’s rough. And it often equates her “sinning” with the way she’s coped with all this unspeakable trauma, a move that feels unfair and frankly icky. Abigail Cowen handles it beautifully, however, charming us even as the story drags on and on. She’s a star, and to Redeeming Love‘s credit, the film seems to understand this, too; Cowen is bathed in dreamy golden light and given all the screen time she deserves (even if the movie itself can’t live up to her talent).

Redeeming Love is obviously a biblical retelling, but it feels a little like Christian softcore porn, getting a little sexier than we’re used to seeing in the faith-based romance genre. There’s something hilarious about this weirdly kinky story being wrapped up in a God-fearing redemption tale; are we supposed to give all the sinful stuff a pass because we know the Lord is going to forgive it all in the end? How does this sexy stuff fit into the soapy state of it all? Redeeming Love wants to be both a moving drama and a Hallmark love story, but it’s never quite able to strike the balance that would allow this to work. It’s also perhaps one of the most unsubtle stories ever told; from the opening sequence that sees grubby men sift through mud in the hopes of finding gold to Angel being named, well, Angel, Redeeming Love has no interest whatsoever in acting like its audience might have a shred of intelligence (or self-respect).

Our Call: SKIP IT. Redeeming Love fails as both a compelling romance and an effective drama, failing to do its dazzling leading lady – or anyone else – justice whatsoever.

Jade Budowski is a freelance writer with a knack for ruining punchlines, hogging the mic at karaoke, and thirst-tweeting. Follow her on Twitter: @jadebudowski.