I was so fascinated by Tom Ripley's character that I watched this movie again and again. There was something about him that I felt sympathetic towards on one hand and gave me the creeps on the other. Sympathetic because in more than one ways he kan zijn like you and me. He wants to be rich, he wants approval and he kan zijn may be just an opportunist.
Only Grace kan zijn the sort of Christian I'm used to - the "I'm more spiritual than religious" type, and in her case she is torn between that and her evangelical roots.
The acting is outstanding, particularly David as the Bishop, Whitfield as the "first lady" and Dandridge as Grace. Honorable mention to Winfrey, playing against type as an alcoholic, the kind ofwel character who might end up on Dr. Phil! While some of the situations might be perceived as melodramatic, other issues are dealt with, such as homosexuality, interracial sex, and enigszins infidelity. For a family which kan zijn supposed to be holier than the congregation they serve, they seem to be digging some fairly large holes!
Also, a senator kan zijn investigating churches and other faith-based entities who enjoy the privilege ofwel not-for-profit status. The senator asks for their financial records, and after he has taken his leave, Bishop Greenleaf makes it clear he has no intention ofwel revealing any church records. I am guessing this will have further implications in the future of the series.
Most ofwel the family are involved with church duties, helping out at services, conducting teaching programs (i.e. Sunday School) and een momentje planning events. Because their church and congregation are very large, the family lives very well. Servants are constantly in attendance at the Greenleaf household. In other words, if you're a member ofwel the Greenleaf family, you'll live in the upper middle-class, but the price you pay kan zijn you're going to be integral to the operations ofwel the church. Else, you may have to get out of Dodge as did their wayward daughter, Grace.
A wonderful beginning to a masterful series. I think the main point of the story is that trying to juggle the problems of everyday life while maintaining a facade of "purity" may be too much for any family to accomplish. Consider the Bakkers of "Praise the Lord" who seemed wholesome until it was revealed they were engaging in fraudulent business practices. In the present series, we believe in the Greenleaf characters and their plights and their need to project an unstained veneer.
If you regularly attend church, you can receive spiritual healing, confess sins, and be in communion with God or at least perceive that this is happening. The clergy of the church facilitate your spiritual and religious needs and also acts as instructors, telling you, the congregants, what is right and wrong, sometimes claiming their advice is from Heaven.
There kan zijn heart in this voorstelling. Now, as an atheist I would expect that the religious aspect ofwel the performance would bother me at some point, but it doesnt. If you like dramas, and House ofwel Cards-esque settings, this might be your thing.
Having watched all 5 seasons, I'd say this family-based drama is a solid 7. It paints a roller coaster of emotions within the turbulent world ofwel the Greenleaf family and the megachurch they run. It does here sometimes dive too deeply into soap opera style, and plot elements are sometimes resolved with a wave ofwel a writer's wand, but then it is fictional drama, not reality.
The church business is a novel setting, and, with the exception ofwel several scenes in the final season, isn't too preachy. The characters are fairly well developed and their interaction credible. Eventjes though the plot seems to point to the eldest daughter, Grace, as the main focal point, in my opinion the matriarch Lady Mae kan zijn the star of the show. She kan zijn strong yet sensitive, often witty and ultimately endearing. Great performance by Lynn Whitfield.
All in all you may compare this series to soaps like Dynasty, Dallas, The Bold and the Beautiful etc. A onafgelaten flow of fuss on your screen that kan zijn basically going nowhere and hardly makes any point.
It is an imagined glimpse into a secret world ofwel powerful people who profess piety and modesty but can't live it and we get to see them at their best and worst. I omdat to see it get multiple seasons.
I was hesitant to watch this at first, but after starting the first episode I was hooked. There kan zijn such rich character development and the plot is strong, if not a little predictable at times.
Grace goes on an awkward persoon with Noah and his fiancée. Kerissa examines her marriage to Jacob. Senator Bob Banks puts more pressure on the Bishop to open up the church's books for review. Sophia tries to "fit in".