Father’s Day is upon us! Are you looking for a way to connect with your son, your father, a father figure, or your grandfather? Are you missing your father (figure) this time of year? Maybe you’ve always missed him because he wasn’t around. “A FATHER’S LEGACY” is a film for you then as it explores the notions of legacy, faith, hope, and redemption.
“A FATHER’S LEGACY” is a fictional story based on “one of the most difficult times in my life,” says writer/director Jason Mac. It tells of a man who, after committing an armed robbery, hides away in the home of a stranger, an elderly gentleman living in seclusion. As the two tolerate each other and begin to learn of each other’s pasts—one a fatherless son, the other a sonless father—they each discover they may be the missing piece in the other man’s life. Full of heart, the film portrays the importance of father/son relationships, just in time for Father’s Day. Mac (The Vampire Diaries, Criminal Minds), who also stars in the film, is joined by Tobin Bell (Saw Franchise, The Firm), Rebeca Robles (Reprisal, Ambitions), and Gregory Alan Williams (Remember the Titans).
Full of both quiet moments and intense drama, “A FATHER’S LEGACY” is not your traditional faith-based film. “I didn’t want to give you the Sunday Christian version [of life],” Mac told me when I asked him about the movie, “but the Wednesday Christian version: when we’re at the hardware store or by ourselves. I don’t want the characters to always be perfect.” And they’re not. The film’s protagonist—or more honestly the antihero—Nick totes a gun, an arrogant attitude, and a chip on his shoulder, while Billy, the recluse, is reserved but snarky at times. In essence, they’re human. “I thought it was really important for these people to be real. And for them to be flawed. I just want as many people as possible to think this can be them,” Mac explained.
That’s the art of this film: whether you’ve had a great, distressed, or non-existent relationship with your father (figure), you can likely relate to these characters in one way or another, and that’s entirely intentional. After losing his father, Mac “wanted to explore that feeling of father/son relationships, what a father means to a son and a son means to a father.” He’s adamant that father figures don’t always have to be biological. “We can all have an impact” on others, Mac told me. “A lot of coaches were father figures to me. Businessmen have been mentors and father figures to me. I think we all have a unique ability to impact people, leaving them better off than when we came” into their lives. And ultimately that’s what “A FATHER’S LEGACY” highlights: What legacy will you leave? What does redemption look like? Whose life will you impact and in what way?
Mac’s hope is that people who watch this film know “that we are redeemable,” that we can choose to do the right thing. “I think of having that father figure to help you figure out who you are and what you want out of this life. And who you’re supposed to be,” Mac concludes. And that doesn’t end in childhood or adolescence. Even as adults, we all need a father(ly figure) to help guide us. With a surprise twist at the end, “A FATHER’S LEGACY” is a thought-provoking story about the significance of father-son relationships and the impact they have over the course of men’s lives that’ll keep you engaged ‘til the very end.
“A FATHER’S LEGACY” is available one night only, June 17, 2021, on FathomEvents.comand will be released to home entertainment on July 16, 2021. For more information, please follow @a.fathers.legacy on Instagram.
