My interest was piqued thanks to a friend’s family who adores C.S. Lewis almost as much as I do Jerry. They guided me through a couple of Narnia sequels, but their everlasting zeal failed to translate when it came to this ill-staged big screen bump-up. Alas, I am at my most reluctant when asked to endure canned theatre that at times borders on radio. Max McLean is the James Whitmore of Hal Holbrooks: the one-man stage adaptation that he wrote and starred in was the basis for this 73 minute biopic. Veteran T.V. director Norman Stone’s work lives up to his last name. Rather than nail a camera to the floor, Stone “opens up” the material with McLean taking to the streets where he spouts his lines while charging the camera. There’s a great film to be made of Lewis’ conversion from doubter to one of the devoted. This isn’t it. (2021) — Scott Marks
This movie is not currently in theaters.