The faith-based film “Ordinary Angels,” starring two-time Academy Award-winning actress Hilary Swank and “Reacher” star Alan Ritchson, has officially made its long-awaited debut with its premiere on Feb. 23.
The movie brings the remarkable true story of Sharon Stevens, played by Ms. Swank, to life on the big screen. “Ordinary Angels” centers on the hairdresser, who is a recovering alcoholic (in the film) living in small-town Louisville, Kentucky, and her efforts to help widower Ed Schmitt, portrayed by Mr. Ritchson, who is struggling to make ends meet for his two daughters, Michelle and Ashley.
After losing her faith, Ms. Stevens later gains a renewed sense of purpose after she moves mountains to rally her local community to help Mr. Schmitt and his youngest daughter, Michelle, who is in desperate need of a liver transplant.
“She’s larger than life. She is like a force of nature, Sharon, and she is flawed, and she’s imperfect like we all are,” Ms. Swank said during a Feb. 19 appearance on the “Today” show.
Based on a True Story
The heart-wrenching events depicted in “Ordinary Angels” took place in real life in January 1994, according to the Courier-Journal. Mr. Schmitt’s daughters, Ashley and Michelle, both suffered from a rare congenital liver disease and needed liver transplants, with the former receiving hers in 1991.The following year, Mr. Schmitt’s wife, Theresa, passed away at the age of 29 due to complications from a rare condition now called granulomatosis with polyangiitis, formerly known as Wegener’s disease.
The film centers on the events surrounding efforts to get Michelle, then 3 years old, to a children’s hospital in Omaha, Nebraska, amid the 1994 record-breaking snowstorm. Ensuing media reports referred to Michelle as the “miracle snow baby.”
However, Michelle passed away in May 2021 at the age of 30 after suffering a stomach aneurysm, per Wave 3 News.
“She was passionate, caring, and loving to everyone; she treated everyone equally,” Ashley Schmitt told the publication at the time.
“We went through a lot with each other growing up, and we leaned on each other growing up because we both knew what we were going through,” Ms. Schmitt added. “She wanted to help other people because we’ve had so many people help us.”
‘Ordinary Angels’
The faith-based movie stars Skywalker Hughes (“Joe Pickett”) and Emily Mitchell (“Priscilla”) as Ashley and Michelle, respectively. The cast also includes Nancy Travis (“Last Man Standing”), Tamala Jones (“Castle”), and Amy Acker (“Person of Interest”), the lattermost of whom portrayed Theresa in the film.“Ordinary Angels” was directed by Jon Gunn, who has worked on a variety of other faith-focused films, including “Jesus Revolution” (2023) and “The Case for Christ” (2017). The filmmaker was recently tapped to be the new head of story for indie faith-based studio The Wonder Project, Deadline reported.
The film holds an especially deeper meaning to Ms. Swank following the loss of her father, Stephen Michael Swank, in October 2021. His death occurred five months before filming began for “Ordinary Angels,” she shared with Deseret News. Mr. Swank had been the recipient of a lung transplant seven years before his passing, which made the film’s storyline even more meaningful to her.
The actress told the publication that her father, a Christian, “loved being of service to other people.” She added that “the power of saving lives through organ donation and just really serving other people” resonated with her.
Ms. Swank has previously touched upon the importance of acts of service, which was another overarching theme in the film. “I feel personally as a storyteller that that’s my act of service, that I get this blessing to walk in different people’s shoes and see through their eyes,” she told Variety.
Around the time of Mr. Swank’s passing, the actress paid tribute to him online, noting that she had a “unique relationship” with her father and had been his sole caretaker following his transplant.
