Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot
Director: Joshua Wiegel
Cast: Nika King, Demetrius Grosse, Elizabeth Mitchell, Diaana Babnicova
Running time: 129 mins
Directed by Joshua Wiegel, this faith-based drama depicts the true story of Donna and Reverend WC Martin, who persuaded 22 families in their East Texas community to adopt 77 children from the local foster system. It’s being distributed by Angel Studios, a company that specialises in Christian-themed films.
Set in small town Possum Trot, Texas, the film begins in 1996, with a brief voiceover from Donna (Nika King) that explains how she met and married Reverend WC Martin (Demetrius Grosse). The story then quickly jumps several years in the future, to a point where Donna and WC have children of their own, including Princeton (Taj Johnson), who has learning difficulties.
As the couple endure various struggles with Princeton as he grows up, something stirs within Donna, and she tells WC that God has spoken to her about adoption. Though WC is initially resistant to the idea, Donna goes ahead anyway and soon they adopt Terri (Diaana Babnicova), a troubled teenager who was abused by her birth mother and often retreats into cat-like behaviour.
At the same time, the Possum Trot community, including Donna’s own sister, become inspired by their example, and they, in turn, begin adopting other vulnerable children. They’re aided by Susan Ramsey (Lost’s Elizabeth Mitchell), who serves as their link to the adoption agencies.
The Martins’ story is undeniably heart-warming and genuinely impressive – towards the end, it’s noted that as a result of their efforts, there is no child in need of a home for 100 miles in the East Texas area. However, it’s fair to say that the script strips down their story to a significant degree, effectively only focusing on Terri’s character rather than including other children. That works in terms of illustrating that their journey wasn’t always an easy one (Terri’s behaviour threatens to get her removed from the program), but it also feels literally reductive in the process.
The performances are solid throughout, with King and Grosse both radiating warmth, compassion and understanding. To that end, the film is unashamedly sentimental, but one shouldn’t underestimate the cathartic power of witnessing acts of kindness on screen, especially in these troubled times.
Intriguingly, as is the case with other Angel Studios biopics, the film ends with images of some of the people involved, as well as a direct plea from the real Donna and WC, asking viewers to get involved with the foster crisis. There’s even a QR code and the promises of a bonus scene (without any detail on what that might be) for anyone who donates via the website.
Ultimately, the script may be overly simplistic, but this is a decently made biopic whose heart is clearly in the right place. If you’re looking for an undemanding feelgood drama that might make you shed a tear or two, this has got you covered.
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