Saving Grace (1998)

• 65%
• 1998
• Drama
• Costa Botes
• Kirsty Hamilton
• Jim Moriarty
• Denise O'Connell

Set in Wellington NZ, Grace is a disturbed, antisocial, 19 year old street kid. She pushes in front of Gerald in the Income Support line and keeps bumping into him after that. Gerald is a kindhearted, virgin, carpenter who offers her dinner, a place to sleep and throws 50 cent coins so that they land on their sides. The mid part of the film is focused on Geralds and Graces developing relationship and their conflicting personalities. Eventually Gerald pours his heart out to Grace, telling her that he his Jesus Christ incarnate. Not believing him, she leaves, only to return armed with a religious dictionary, asking him to prove himself by performing a miracle. Here the movie manages to convince us, as well as Grace, that Gerald is Jesus, although the only miracle he is actually seen to perform is when he heals Graces knifed wrists (and at the end this is implied to be her imagination). Gerald and Grace begin a sexual relationship then Gerald, along with some 'courier' spirits, begs Grace to nail him to the enormous wooden cross he has been carving ever since they met. She does so. Afterwards, when Grace is being held in police custody for questioning, a video of the murder is shown, with Grace violently forcing Gerard to climb onto the cross and allow himself to be nailed.