Religious Overtones?

I think it definitely looks at Lewis's Christian faith in the context of dealing with suffering. But it seems by the end of the film, that he had come to a firm conclusion about it all. I'd say as a rule, it plays down Lewis's Christianity though.

Completely agree - fantastic film, possibly my favourite.

Yeah, I agree. It did downplay Lewis' faith, but that was to be expected in a mainstream movie. Overall, I found the tone to be pretty realistic -- these people feel like real characters, and the story has that odd ring of truth and real life to it. The conversations about God were very interesting, but they were really a tiny glimpse and a small summary of Lewis' powerful thoughts on the nature of spiritual reality and God's love for us.
It's all based on his book, A Grief Observed, which I haven't read myself but have heard is more in-depth about Lewis' faith and the test he went through. It's interesting -- all his vast theological knowledge stands, and is proved true, but in the end, when *he* himself underwent the suffering and pain, it seems he only barely stays on track. I guess it's easier to say these things -- "pain is the tool God uses to chisel us and make us perfect" -- out of head knowledge, but what of heart knowledge? I hear in the book it's even clearer that following the whole experience of suffering and losing his wife, his faith is shaken to the core, and he forced to rediscover his faith in a new way. He comes out of the experience a changed man, and pain was indeed the tool God used to make him stronger. The film doesn't make it fully clear that he comes through the trial and finds peace, and re-affirms his faith in a new way.

After all, it's very easy to realise something in principle and write or give talks about it, but to apply the teaching to your own life when the dark times come is harder to do. Lewis is honest about that, and that's a trait I really admire.

Fascinating movie though, and the performances were perfect. Hopkins was a good choice. Loved the screenplay too, very witty.

"Nietzsche is dead" -- God

You might want to read other books by Lewis who was the supreme agnostic until one day he was converted to Christianity. You can read about it in his books Mere Christianity, and his spiritual biography entitled Surprised by Joy. A brilliant man and one of the 20th century's aclaimed Christian apologists.

A lot of you are saying that Lewis was much more Christian than what was portrayed, which is probably true.

I liked the way religion was handled in this film. I remember a long time ago I was reading the novelization of this film (NOT the original play -- I repeat NOT the original play), and I remember being turned off by it partly because the novel seemed to be a little "preachy." (And also because the writing was juvenile, the prose clunky, the characerizations bland... just -- don't read it, please. Ever. It was a terrible companion to such an excellent film.) Anyway, there's a difference between writing about someone who is devout and preaching through the book, and I felt that the novel overstepped that boundary. (Hrm... don't really know how to explain this. Well, it wasn't marketed as a religious book, but it felt like reading a religious book, know what I mean?)

But I think the was religion was presented in this film was very well done. It showed the strong faith of CS Lewis and showed us his point of view without urging the viewer to also be of that faith. And in the end, we're left with messages that I think are universal: for instance, have the courage to love despite the pain, etc. So I wouldn't say that this film had overarching religious overtones, but was ABOUT a religious person. I'm not religious, and I also found the conversations about God quite interesting.