Tragedy strikes when a woman named Joyce's son falls through the ice on a frozen lake and is trapped underwater for over 15 minutes. After being rushed to the hospital, the 14-year-old boy continues to fight for his life as Joyce, her husband and their pastor stay by his bedside and pray for a miracle.
Ratings
Curator score: 1.2/10
IMDb: 6.3/10
Letterboxd: 2.72/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 60%
Metacritic: 46
TMDB: 7.6/10
Director
Roxann Dawson
Production
Fox 2000 Pictures, 20th Century Fox
Cast
Chrissy Metz, Josh Lucas, Topher Grace, Mike Colter, Marcel Ruiz, Sam Trammell, Dennis Haysbert, Maddy Martin, Isaac Kragten, Nikolas Dukic, Taylor Mosby, Alissa Skovbye, Chuck Shamata, Nancy Sorel, Lisa Durupt, Rebecca Staab, Victor Zinck, Jr., Kristen Harris, Stephanie Czajkowski, Mel Marginet
Where to watch
fuboTV
Curator Review
Verdict
A sincere, faith-centered medical drama built around a true-story-style miracle narrative. It will resonate most with viewers open to inspirational storytelling and emotional uplift, but its heavy-handed dialogue and melodramatic structure may frustrate others.
audiences who don’t mind overtly devotional storytelling
people looking for a tearjerker with a hopeful ending
Skip if
you dislike preachy or sermon-like scripts
you want nuanced medical realism
you’re allergic to melodrama
you prefer ambiguity over explicit religious messaging
Overview
Breakthrough is designed to move you, not to surprise you. The film leans hard into prayer, bedside anguish, and the language of faith as a direct source of hope, which gives it a sincere emotional center even when the storytelling feels schematic. Chrissy Metz anchors the film with raw, protective intensity, and the hospital setting provides a steady pressure-cooker of fear and waiting.
Worth noting
The downside is that the movie often tells you exactly what to feel, and it repeats itself when it should be trusting the situation. Supporting characters are mostly there to reinforce the message, and the script can feel polished toward uplift at the expense of complexity. That said, the film’s earnestness is real, and for viewers who connect with devotional drama, that sincerity matters.
Bottom line
As a piece of mainstream faith-based cinema, it sits comfortably in the inspirational-miracle lane: emotionally direct, accessible, and built for catharsis. If you want a polished, nonjudgmental recommendation for a mixed audience, this is a cautious one. If you want a moving, openly religious tearjerker, it delivers enough to justify the watch.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Chris Feil (1★) · 336 likes
Be an Oscar completist they said, it will be fun they said
maria (1.5★) · 263 likes
i hate the oscars for many reasons this year, but the main one has to be that they subjected me to THIS train wreck of a movie
marlon (0.5★) · 201 likes
dumbass kid, glad he fell into the cold puddle for texting on plain ice
Austin Burke (3.5★) · 136 likes
👍🏻65%YouTube review - Click HERE2019 list - Click HERE
Reviewing faith-based films can be a challenge; especially when you are a Christian. I am not afraid to admit that I am one (even though I’m not one to rub it in the faces of others). I respect the idea of choice and I support you regardless of your faith. When looking into reviews of these types of films, it can become upsetting. Most of the time, the movies just aren’t… more
dselwyns (0.5★) · 124 likes
One out of Breakthrough, Honey Boy, Atlantics, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, The Farewell, Hustlers, and Clemency is an Oscar nominated film in 2020 directed by a woman.