The Investigator
Tags: christian film

Plot synopsis:
The Investigator concerns a United States Senator, who is never explicitly identified as Joseph McCarthy, but who shares McCarthy’s nasally whine and who uses such McCarthy-esque sayings as "Your uncooperative attitude can only cast the gravest doubts on your own loyalty." This senator dies in an airplane crash and finds himself at the gates of Heaven, where a tribunal must decide whether he is worthy of heaven or hell. There, he meets Cotton Mather of the Salem Witch Trials, Tomas de Torquemada of the Spanish Inquisition, and other famous inquisitors from history, who, despite their reputations as shrewd and conniving characters, call themselves "mere untutored novices" compared to the Senator. As it turns out, they’ve been looking for someone to commandeer the tribunal and bring "the latest inquisitorial techniques" to it, and they see that the Senator is the perfect man for the job.
The Senator easily takes control of the committee, and soon realizes that a great many individuals in heaven could potentially be subversives from "down there." He soon calls numerous historical figures to the stand, including Thomas Jefferson, Socrates, John Milton, and Martin Luther. When they testify, they all give oddly relevant quotations of theirs, such as when Voltaire states that "liberty of thought is the life of the soul." Completely disregarding their statements regarding freedom and rights, the Senator sends them all to Hell, claiming that "security is the paramount issue." When trying to call Karl Marx to the stand, the Senator accidentally calls other individuals named "Karl Marx" instead of the Karl Marx; as a result, the Senator orders that all those in Heaven with the name Karl Marx be banished to Hell. The Senator's actions soon create a panic of suspicion in Heaven where everyone is a potential subversive: Beethoven, Bach, and Wagner agree to drop Chopin from their quartet because of suspicion derived from his "Revolutionary Étude." Chopin's replacement, a "non-controversial" cipher named Otto Schmenk, eventually replaces other famous "subversives" in literary and musical pursuits, eventually joining them in banishment as well.
Finally, after sending dozens of "subversives" to hell, the Senator has run out of ideas. "Can’t we jazz the hearing up with a few names?" he asks an assistant; "I don’t want them to think we’re scraping the bottom of the barrel." Then Satan pays a call on the Senator, demanding that his investigations cease, because the influence of those he's sent to his domain are changing it too much; (the real) Karl Marx, for example, is distributing pamphlets declaring, "Workers of the Underworld, unite! You have nowhere to go but up!" Satan claims the Senator is "bungling" his job, insisting there are more subtle ways to handle his committee and the deportations. But the Senator has become a demagogue, valuing his position (and absolute power) above all else. Finally, claiming that "there is no one so high as to be immune from investigation," he’s found the name he’s looking for—God Himself, whom the characters in the show refer to as "The Chief." Even Mather and Torquemada try to discourage him now, but the Senator refuses to listen. He soon rises to an insane scream, crying "I AM THE CHIEF!" as God suddenly appears before him, furiously banishing him to Hell (with the proper balance between Heaven and Hell eventually restored). However, the Senator is so vile and abhorrent that Satan will not even let him enter, so he is returned to earth, still stammering, "I am the chief...I am the chief..."
In a brief epilogue, a doctor explains to one of the Senator's acquaintances, Mr. Garson, that despite having lived through the plane crash (discovered at the crash site as the only survivor), it somehow affected his mind—hence his strange mutterings—and wonders if he'll ever regain his sanity. Mr. Garson declares, at the doctor's disbelief of the Senator emerging virtually unscathed after being found at the foot of the mountain where the plane crashed, "It was an act of God!"

Review: Skeptical police sergeant..now teaches high school..challenged to...investigate a.n ancient murder.
He has been shot at...seen much death...as a police sergeant investigating homicides.
Now, after mandatory early retirement from the force, he takes a job teaching at a local high school.
Sgt. Buonacore will teach his students about American justice.He must rebuild the school's weak baseball team, earn students' respect, and rise to his students' challenge to investigate the 2000 year old murder of Jesus Christ.
he is surprised to learn...there is a lot of evidence...outside of the Bible itself ...concerning this ancient crime.
This story is entertaining.
it avoids much of the over sentimentality in some faith based films.
inspired by true events in the life of a police brother of actor Ray Romano....
Excellent Movie.
The Investigator is an excellent movie that everyone should see....and bring your children too.
It is a movie of real hope and inspiration.
It is a real life story about a cop that looses hope as result of "life" and then finds inspiration through teaching at a school.
Don't want to give to much away!
There are many real life lessons that everyone can take and learn from.
It is a mainstream film although it is categorized as a Christian film.
Don't let that sway you one way or another.
It is about "REAL LIFE" no matter your beliefs, religion, political stance, etc.
It is nice to be able to see a film that has a positive message during a time in our lives that has a lot of challenges and obstacles.
Thumbs up to screen play writer, Rich Romano, the producer, Nicole and all the cast, crew, etc.
I highly recommend this movie.
Kudo's to all..
uplifting family friendly film.
my husband and two teenagers attended the st petersburg screening of this amazing film and were all so inspired and moved by the story and the incredible acting.
what a blessing to finally have a movie in the theaters that im not uncomfortable viewing with my kids!
having the opportunity to meet the director and the producer made the experience all the more meaningful.
and although this is a 'Christian' film - the well-portrayed sports sequences make it appealing to a much wider audience than just the religious right.
i would highly recommend this movie to anyone who considers themselves a Christian or for families who want true family entertainment..
Everyone can relate to this movie.
If you have ever been challenged by life.
If you have ever asked the questions Why me?
If you have ever asked the questions;Where am I going?
or What is my place in this world?
Then you will relate well to the story and the characters in this movie.
This movie will inspire you and touch your heart.
The humor in the movie incited laughter throughout the audience several times while watching the film.
Baseball fans will especially enjoy this movie!
A great movie for teens, educators, parents and anyone who is facing the struggles of life.
A highly recommended film that already has positively impacted many people who have watched this film..
Excellent Christian-based film.
I throughly enjoyed this film and it makes a good companion to "God Is Dead," (also an excellent faith-based movie in this genre-type).
The acting is well done as is the writing.
The storyline is believable (it is from a true story) and flows smoothly while raising and answering questions about Christianity and Jesus Christ.
In addition, "The Investigator" shows how a life change can work to the good in ones life if one only has faith.
If you enjoyed "God Is Dead," then you most certainly will like this film.
It's good to see more Christian-themed films entering the market.
God knows we need them, especially at this time of world trials and tribulations.
Linda's review, above, is excellent and I can't improve on her review with mine, but it's my two cents worth....
The Investigator.
I was really looking forward to this movie and was highly disappointed.
The only plus about it was that it wasn't full of violence or blood and gore.
I am glad we only rented it on Amazon for 3.99 instead of paying theater prices for a family of three.
Although it is based on a true story I find most of it highly unbelievable.
Some of the minor actors were remarkable but unfortunately the lead actor (Wade Williams)was unremarkable.
The word "campy" comes to mind.
The only other movie I have seen him in was Killer Cop (2002)which was horrible.
His acting wasn't great in that movie either but at least it was more believable.
Perhaps a better.lead.actor would have made this movie more believable and easier to watch, but I think even with a superb lead actor this movie would then only deserve five stars..
Inspiring, challenging, reflects Christian values eventually.
In this fact-based story, two brothers throw a baseball to each other and tease each other.
One supports the Mets; the other support the Yankees.
30 years later, the boys have grown up and still support the same baseball teams.
James has been a police detective for 20 years and will soon be eligible to retire.
He has a son and his wife is pregnant.
His brother Paul is a successful actor (James is based on the brother of Ray Romano).
We see Paul and the parents gather at James' house for Easter.Something terrible happens and James is told he will retire, or else.
And the news just gets worse.
All these events in James' life cause him to lose faith.
But Paul has a solution.
His manager's son goes to a Christian school whose baseball coach has had to quit because of serious health problems.James interviews with the principal, who is impressed enough to hire him.
The coach also taught American government but James has never taught.
That's okay; there's only one quarter left.
James can teach the class about criminal justice.
If he does well in both jobs, he may get to come back next year.James' first day doesn't go very well.
Dillon, a star football player, does not believe the rules apply to him.
So he is being disrespectful to the nerdy science teacher Mr. Genaro.
James punishes Dillon (who is in his class) by taking away his cell phone.
He is soon set straight by Coach Howard and by the principal.James' problems continue as he meets the baseball team.
They are not very good, and baseball gets no respect.
Football is what brings in the big money from boosters.
Some of the players don't respect James, but he informs them that will change.
Genaro becomes his assistant.When the time comes to play their first game, one of the best players refuses to listen to the coach and finds himself benched, warned that if it happens again, he won't play.
James also puts in the team's worst player.
Things are not going well.Add to that the fact the former cop finds out about a scandal and has to investigate.
If he thinks people hated him before, just wait.Eventually, at the very least, a couple of athletes who weren't showing James respect realize they need to, and something happens you might not have expected.In the classroom, James starts out teaching the kids about his work.
Then he returns to what the class is supposed to be by explaining to the students how to study reliable sources and investigate what really happened in history.
One student wonders whether Oswald really shot JFK.
Later, the results of the scandal cause some students to question their faith.
Other students don't believe, period.
James is asked to explain why they should believe.
The result is an investigation of whether Jesus really existed, and whether he died and rose from the dead.Meanwhile, James is still having problems with his baseball team.
Will they turn things around and win the championship?This is not a squeaky clean G-rated family film.
It had a TV-14 rating when I saw it, and a symbol in the end credits show it to be appropriate for viewers over the age of 12.
While it teaches Christian values, it also has plenty of content that shows people not living by those values.
Remember, something happened that forced James to retire, and in flashbacks, we see more of what made James' job difficult.About halfway through the movie, though, if one were to investigate whether James was teaching at a Christian school, the facts shown in the movie up to that point would not prove it.Wade Williams does a fine job of acting.
He demands respect and obedience, but he shows that he cares.
And James is far from perfect.
This is more of a challenge than being the ideal teacher and coach.Kevin White also does a good job, showing Genaro to be much more than a nerd.
Mostly, though, he is still funny.Several of the actors playing baseball players also do a good job.I also want to single out the performance of the announcer at the last game shown in the movie.
He seems biased toward the other team but has a lot of enthusiasm.This is a worthwhile effort and a film which inspires and challenges..
Awful.
I was watching a bit of this show and was appalled by how terrible it was.
I'm a fan of baseball and the process of investigating what is and isn't good justification for beleif.
This show seems to have an awful grasp of both.The failure to understand an argument from ignorance is very apparent here.
The show also seems to find straw-manning and emotional appeals to be convinceing evidence as opposed to tangible proof.
I get so sick of theists asserting God is a viable option just because they can straw man poor arguments and poor understandings of atheists.
There are an infinite number of unfalsifiable propositions for unknown questions.
Anything that one believes must be justified with evidence which can make the claims seem more or less likely true depending on how useful the evidence is.
Atheists inability to disprove theism is not a special truth which gives credit to theist claims.
No one can disprove that the universe is 1 second old if one accepts a presupposition that everything older than one second is an illusion.
We find that one second old universe presuppositions inevdient, but so is any presupposition of the supernatural.
There is no way of demonstrating which of two presuppositions is more likely to true.
And there is no proof either is true.
They could both be false.
This is the nature of the uselessness if unfalsifiable claims.
No matter how much one wants to accept one it's a foolish guilible exercise to take one seriously.The show should be cancelled or they should take a basic logic class and take a stance toward actually taking their interests seriously..
excellent movie based on true events.
I think everyone can relate to a story like this.
We all have trials and struggles.
This is a wonderful true story of how faith interweaves into life events.....and how life events can cause us to doubt God's goodness.
I loved it and thought Rich Romano did a fantastic job.
Well worth watching.
Very uplifting.
I am not sure why the reviews are not as good as they should be but I am happy that Rich Romano took a risk and made this movie..
A Diamond in the Rough.
What a surprise to find out The Investigator was written by Ray Romano's brother and based on his life!
I thought his script for this story was cleverly put together.
Although I'm a sports fan, I think the baseball tangent perhaps was emphasized a bit more than needed and there should have been more footage of the investigation.
That concept is not new; both Lee Strobel and Josh McDowell eloquently documented their investigations on the topic of Jesus Christ.
However seeing a class full of screw offs transform into keenly focused and highly motivated historical detectives was precious.
The acting was solid.
The sports action was fairly realistic (something you don't see much).
And the cinematography didn't scream "low budget production".
I thoroughly enjoyed this film and I highly recommend it..
A take on how you should never lose faith..
At first glance, The Investigator seems like a light-hearted film surrounding a detective (Wade Williams) and his family - but underneath lies a film outlining love, hope, and why we so blindly put faith into not only God, but everything in life.
Williams takes the role of Ray Romano's brother and runs with it, creating a whole new persona that by the end of the film, you feel as if you know the gentlemen on a person level.
It is a film filled with laughs, tears, and heartache that you can't help but hope that everything turns out fine for these individuals.
The supporting cast also shines with up and comers Carlos Garriga as Stephen, the lovable but chunky nerd, and Nicole Abisinio as the loving and caring wife of Williams.
It is worth the watch, as well a keeper once it releases on DVD..
starsI'LL SLAP YOUR FACE OFF YOUR HEAD.
This is a story inspired by the lives of Rich and Ray Romano and a Josh McDowell book.
Ray (David Sanborn) is a movie star who envies his brother Rich (Wade Williams) who is a policeman and helps people.
Unfortunately Wade Williams is not much of an actor.
Rich envies Ray who went after his dream, as Rich's first choice was to play center field for the Yankees.Rich has a bad month where his wife (Nicole Abisinio) loses her child and he is forced to retire.
Rich denounces God in front of his brother, showing off some really bad acting skills.
As God closes a door, he opens a window and Rich, with the help of Ray, scores a job as a baseball coach and government teacher at a Christian school.
Here he coaches a team, deals with students and has a courtroom investigation scene on whether or not Jesus existed...all carefully crafted and aimed at the doubting high school teen.
It should be good enough to keep them in belief at least until college or prom night.The film is formula.
Wade Wilson was absolutely lousy in this role, looking like a deer in the headlights.
In fact he looked that way so much, they put it on the DVD cover.
I found the plot cringe worthy and I think I could have written a better Jesus debate.
The use of the JFK assassination report as evidence of a government lie should have been left out as it lacked the proper insight,Could have been better.
Rich Romano plays a bit part as Officer Romano.Did I mention Wade Wilson really sucked?