‘Soul on Fire’ is a story that burns bright

By Amelia Morris

“Soul on Fire” is an inspiring true story about John O’Leary who learned to turn an accident into a comeback. 

At the age of nine, John O’Leary played with fire, literally. After a house fire that was his fault, John suffered several severe burns over his whole body. The doctors and nurses believed he wouldn’t make it. 

Defying all odds, John survived with burn scars, lost fingers and a story to tell. With help from John’s family, hospital staff and his own will, John lived to see his wedding day, his graduation and so much more. 

“Soul on Fire” explores John’s journey to healing, personal growth and eventually his success. The movie begins with John as a child and shows how the accident occurs and the fallout. Then, throughout the film, there are time jumps to John in college and then later pursuing a career in public speaking. 

John took piano lessons before the accident and hated it. Even after the accident, John’s mother, Susan, insisted he continue his lessons, without fingers. It seemed impossible, even to John but Susan was not the type of mother to let him off easily. John was going to relearn how to do everything he used to do, nothing would be impossible for him if Susan had anything to say about it.

When John was approached by a Girl Scout leader, Deanna Rocco, to speak publicly for the first time, he was surprised to know anyone wanted to hear his story. John was nervous to speak, but news spread of his story leading him to be asked to speak at more engagements. 

As demand for him grew, John knew he would need help managing so he approached Deanna and asked her to help him turn his public speaking opportunities into a business. In real life his business continues, allowing John to continue speaking in front of large audiences.

The film treads the line between spiritual and secular. This movie was marketable to the masses while also catering to a Christian audience. While it’s not direct, the film has a few spiritual references about how John survived, such as the O’Leary family’s prayers being answered. 

This is a great movie to watch for people of all religions while also being a great segway to what faith in God is. When John survived and chose to pursue public speaking, his faith was in his speeches. When John tells his audiences about his amazing comeback story, he references God’s grace in his life and how fortunate he is to be alive. 

The movie had a great premise and plot, but fell short in two key areas: sequencing and visuals. “Soul on Fire” had several time jumps that required the viewer’s attention at all times. The story involved nearly 30 years of content so sequencing difficulties were almost unavoidable.

I do feel that it could have been cleaner and easier to understand if certain scenes were set up ahead of time instead of abrupt cuts. One example of the abrupt cutting is how at one minute, the O’Leary family is surrounding their young brother and son in the hospital and the next he is at a college party dancing with a girl. 

Visuals were also lacking and even took me out of the story several times. The bad CGI was most likely due to the low budget. Unfortunately for the film, the bad CGI stopped me from experiencing the story, reminding me how low budget this film really was.

In spite of its few flaws, “Soul on Fire” was a great movie. I enjoyed the inspiring story and hearing how John persevered through every struggle he encountered. No one believed John would ever leave the hospital but he was able to use the life he was given to inspire others to pursue their dreams, especially when it seemed impossible. 

The movie was extremely emotional, being palpable in the theater. There were several hospital sequences and hard to watch moments that made viewers do everything from cringe to smile to cry. The audience pleads with John, hoping he will survive

The inspiring story demonstrates how it takes a village to save a life. Everyone from the janitor at the hospital to legendary baseball announcer Jack Buck, helped John survive. But ultimately, John was the one who had to chose to live.

“Soul on Fire” is a true comeback story. John, literally, rose from the ashes to inspire the world. John demonstrates that even a man without fingers can play the piano.

“Soul on Fire” is currently available in theaters.

Amelia Morris is a freshman journalism major and writer for Cedars A&E. She loves reading, writing and being in nature with her dogs.

Images courtesy of Affirmed Films, Branded Pictures Entertainment and Brookwell McNamara Entertainment.