The independent film “Paul’s Promise,” though set in 1950s racially divided Arkansas, addresses a very modern question: Can a racist fireman be redeemed and form healthy relationships with the people he once abused? Today a racist can lose his role and reputation in a single Twitter storm, but our society rarely leaves the door open for genuine recantation and redemption. This film explores these issues in a new way.
Written by Vitya Stevens, the film “Paul’s Promise” is loosely based on an out-of-print 1981 paperback “Brother Paul,” which its only two Amazon reviews have described as “powerful and inspiring” and “excellent.” Both the book and the film relate the real-life story of Paul Holderfield, a troubled white Southerner who moves from racism to reconciliation in a convincing yet surprising transformation. That the film also manages to find moments of wit and charm is a testament to director Matthew Reithmayr’s control of the material, which could have too easily stall and spin out in a field of cliches in the hands of a less accomplished filmmaker.
