Rebecca St. James ‘Blown Away’ By UNSUNG HERO, New Movie About Her Family
By Movieguide® Contributor
Rebecca St. James recently shared about seeing her family’s story played out on the big screen and living out her dream as a wife and mother.
“I’m so proud of the film. I think it turned out so well,” St. James said on the “Candace Cameron Bure” podcast.
She was especially impressed by Daisy Betts, who portrays her mother, Helen Smallbone, whom the singer calls a “bit of a legend” and one of her “closest friends.”
“But Daisy just carried Mum’s essence so well, and it was this pairing of strength and vulnerability because it’s not just that she was all strong. There was vulnerability, too, and it shows both,” she said.
“She just has a very sincere relationship with Jesus, the sincere prayer life, sincere desire to love well, especially when it comes to her family, like a fierce kind of mama heart that loves her family and…sees being a wife and a mom as a high calling; I mean, she would say the highest calling,” she added.
The synopsis of UNSUNG HERO, coming out April 26, reads:
When David Smallbone’s successful music company collapses, he moves his family from Australia to the United States in search of a brighter future. With nothing more than their six children, their suitcases, and their love of music, David (for KING + COUNTRY’s Joel Smallbone) and his pregnant wife Helen (Daisy Betts) set out to rebuild their lives from the ground up. Based on a remarkable true story, a mum’s faith stands against all odds; and inspires her husband and children to hold onto theirs.”
The movie chronicles the miracles of God’s provision as they start their new life in America.
“But there’s so much that is so challenging and so rich and then the miracles that we saw and the answers to prayer and, you know, groceries on our doorstep and in the furniture coming to our house and like I mean God providing in such specific ways for our family. It was also true, but I watched the movie and I’m blown away,” she told Bure, who serves as one of the movie’s executive producers.
The Christian drama, co-directed and co-written by St. James’ brother Joel Smallbone from For King + Country, has moments of comic relief that Rebecca appreciates.
“I love hearing the audience laugh because it really is this mixture of drama and then there’s comedy moments that yeah, that lighten up these challenges,” St. James recalled. “But it’s a really special film, and I just pray that God uses it powerfully.”
While not wanting to give any spoilers, she also recalls one of the most touching scenes towards the end of the movie that shows her and her mom on stage.
“Very few people get to see their counterpart like their young self,” the 46-year-old said. “It’s just such an unbelievably mind-boggling moment that I had. And then I turned to my mom, and I say, ‘That was us like hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of times like praying before going on stage or having a conversation before going on stage.’”
She says that her mother Helen’s dedication as a wife and mother was a huge reason for her wanting to be a wife and mother as well.
“What she did and giving so much to her family being a wife and a mom and just dedicating her heart to being a great wife and mom, [and] was my dream and is my dream. And so yeah, she’s a big inspiration,” she said.
St. James married musician and missionary Jacob Fink at 33, with whom she has three children: Gemma, 10, Imogen, 5, and River, 3. She says that after the long wait before getting married and starting a family, she calls it a “privilege” that she doesn’t take for granted and tries to bring the family along with whatever project she’s working on.
“You know any music stuff that I’m doing or book writing or podcasting or any of it. We do it as much as we can as a family. It’s just a family adventure,” St. James said.
Speaking of a family adventure, St. James and all her six siblings make an appearance in the movie UNSUNG HERO with brother Joel portraying their father David, which could be a daunting task, but one that Joel said he was prepared for.
“It wasn’t a long bridge to cross to get to the emotion of what was happening in that time,” Smallbone told The Tennessean. “I remember the first day Josh Walsh, who is the other producer with Luke, he walked up to us, and he literally was like, ‘We’re not gonna die! You can act!’”
His father was impressed with his performance, too.
“It’s hard to be objective about yourself, but I think he portrayed me pretty well as far as putting on my human side,” David said. “I do feel the movie gave him a better understanding of me.”
Movieguide® previously reported on how Bure came on as one of the producers of the upcoming movie:
“The film is truly amazing, it truly is,” Bure added. “I’ve seen it, obviously, a few times now, and I’m so proud of it. I talked with Joel and Luke before about the project, and they were like, ‘Hey, we’d love to send this to you and see if you want to collaborate on it,’ And it’s always a little bit scary when it’s coming from friends because you’re like, oh man, if I don’t like this, this is kind of awkward.’”
“They sent me the script, and I read it without expectation. I just wanted to read it with fresh eyes and see if it was, you know – let them have my honest opinion and if it was good or bad and if it was something that I wanted to be a part of,” Bure continued. “Man, I devoured that script. I really did. I devoured it, and I was like, ‘Yes. Yes, you guys need to make this. Yes, I would love to be a part of it, whether it is as a producer’ – and then it was like, well, there’s and acting part, so I was like, yeah, bonus.”
- Content: +1Share:
- Content: +1