Before diving into “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot,” it’s essential to highlight the true story that the movie is based on. Somewhere in early 2008, a pastor and his wife from Possum Trot, a small settlement in East Texas, started a chain of adopting children from the ever-failing foster care system of America. Their Christian congregation, known as Bennett Chapel Baptist, a community consisting largely of working-class African-Americans, decided to follow suit without having enough resources on their side.
All of them briefly appear in the pre-credit section of the film, allowing us to revel in their constant persistence in doing good for the world. The section, which comes after a languid, mostly by-the-numbers and one-note drama, moves you to an extent where you would like to forget how conventional and manipulative all of the “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot” feels.
The story follows Donna (Nike King), the wife of Reverend WC Martin (Demetrius Grosse) and the mother of two children. She was raised by a single mother who brought up 18 children on her own. Donna has always looked up to her mother. However, when her mother passes away, something dies in Donna, but something also takes birth. She believes that the Lord has made a calling for her and that she should now do greater good for the world. So, in spite of the serious opposition from her husband, she decides to understand the adoption system currently in place in East Texas.
This leads her to Susan Ramsey (Elizabeth Mitchell), the person in charge of adoption in Possum Trot. She is loaded with cases of children who have either suffered abuse of the extreme kind or have lived in almost unlivable environments, making them traumatized for life. Susan has been finding it difficult to get these children adopted into good homes because of the trauma that they have suffered. Donna and her sister come as a ray of hope for her as they both take a couple of children off her hands. WC, Donna’s husband, also starts growing fond of his new children in spite of the monetary toll it would be putting on their pockets.
Things, however, take a difficult turn when they adopt Terri (Dianna Dabnicova). As a child, she was abandoned by her own mother, pimped, and raped, leaving her mental fabric altered forever. When Donna and WC adopt her, they do it because they think the most difficult children are the ones who need a home most. However, Terri, who believes that she is a cat, takes a long time to come to terms with her being part of the Martin family. When she does come around, she starts getting jealous of Donna’s real children, believing that she is still othered in a family that talks about love. WC and Donna’s problems keep piling up, and the rest of the movie deals with them doubting their fate and almost giving up on Terri and their family.
Now, it’s not hard to see that director Joshua Weigel‘s “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot” comes from a sincere place. It wishes to raise awareness about the deeply rooted flaws in the American foster care system. In spite of being a nation of great wealth, there are so many children that end up in places that they shouldn’t be in. As a plea to people who can take the plunge and provide a place for such children, the film works. However, it also wishes to drive that message across in a manipulative manner that often takes away from its strengths. It’s hard for me to digest that people would take such a step as big as adopting and bringing a human into the family just because their lord told them to. While the faith-based themes in this film are not as odd or preachy as in other Angel Studios productions, the studio’s decision to rebrand the title to resemble their hit movie “Sound of Freedom” reveals their desperation to capitalize on its success.
That said, “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot” is worth watching just to experience the powerful pre-credit sequence. It captures the impact of one person developing a conscience, whether due to a calling from the Lord or simply for being a genuinely empathetic person.
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