(Photo: TV One)
The cast of TV One’s ‘To Hell And Back’
Christian Post Report – Easter weekend usually promises audiences its fair share of plays and films centered around the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but TV One has decided to use the time to air a modern retelling of the biblical book of Job.
In TV One’s Easter weekend premiere of the film To Hell And Back, God and Satan are having a conversation about the faith of a successful businessman named Joe Patterson. Much like the biblical book of Job, God gives Satan permission to inflict harm on Joe’s family and possessions, which proves to be a test of his faith.
Joe, played by Ernie Hudson, is tested like never before when tragic events take place one after the other despite his humanitarian efforts and strong faith. Vanessa Bell Calloway, the veteran actress who plays Joe’s wife Janine in “To Hell And Back,” spoke to The Christian Post about the film that she believes many people will be able to relate to.
“When I read the script, it was about the challenges that we all face, faith, patience, how much can one take,when do you give up and when do you keep going,” Bell Calloway told CP. “These are the issues that we all have to deal with regularly just in everyday life.”
Bell Calloway initially signed onto the project knowing the film’s director, Christine Swanson, whom she spoke about in high regard. Aside from being a fan of Swanson’s work and having built a relationship with TV One after producing a previous project for the network, the Catholic actress was drawn to the deeper faith elements found in “To Hell And Back.”
“We all challenge the basis of faith, do I stay, do I go, how much do i take, do i stop,” Bell Calloway told CP. “[The film] attracted me because of what life already is as I know it.”
As Joe’s wife Janine in the TV One movie, Bell Calloway portrayed a character that dealt with ailing health, death and the loss of earthly possessions. The actress opened up about preparing for the role of the woman who had to watch her husband and family fall on tough times.
“I read the script and I went into myself and thought how I would be if I was this woman. How would I deal with it,” she reflected on the experience, while speaking with CP. “I’ve lost a brother so I know what that’s like, I’ve lost grandparents, I’ve lost family members so I don’t have to prepare for that, that’s just life. You dig into your own life and recognize what people are going through around you.”
Even if audiences may not relate to Joe and Janine’s loss of prosperity, or the death that their family encounters in “To Hell And Back,” Bell Calloway said the faithful message is one that people from all different walks of life could identify with.
“It’s about patience and faith and how much can you take. I think the message is very clear when you see it,” she told CP. “[People will] find their own journey in it, they’ll find people they know in it, they’ll find themselves in it. They’ll take away from it what speaks to them but I think it’s very clear that this is about faith and how much faith do you have.”
“To Hell And Back” will make its debut on TV One Saturday, April 4 at 8 P.M. E.T.
Source : Christian Post