D.J. Caruso’s historical drama/romance/morality play “Redeeming Love” opens with the Shakespeare quote “all that glitters is not gold,” and a pair of hands thrusting a pan into a river, searching for treasure. It sets the time and place in Gold Rush-era California, in the town of Pair-a-Dice circa 1850, but the quote has no bearing on the tale that unfolds over the next two hours, based on the smash hit 1991 novel by Francine Rivers. There may be gold in them thar hills, but “Redeeming Love” doesn’t yield any cinematic riches.
Our heroine in need of redeeming is Angel (Abigail Cowen), a sex worker and the hottest ticket in Pair-a-Dice, her time raffled off by the Duchess (Famke Janssen) to a frothing mob of men that gathers daily in front of the Palace brothel. As a child, Angel was trafficked into sex work by a smooth pimp named Duke (Eric Dane) after the death of her destitute mother (Nina Dobrev), who seems to waste away from shame after she and her daughter are rejected by Angel’s father, who is married to another woman. For her part, Angel doesn’t seem to mind her life in Pair-a-Dice all that much, though a knight in dusty denim will soon shake things up.
Her redeemer is Michael (Tom Lewis), a folksy farmer who prays for a wife who likes to go fishing. When he lays eyes on Angel, he chuckles that God has a sense of humor, as his heaven-sent intended wife is the highest-priced prostitute in town. Nevertheless, he persists, much to Angel’s chagrin, showing up to chat as often as he can afford.
