Soul on Fire

"Soul on Fire" is a warm and big-hearted, but often preachy biopic about conquering adversity that's so saccharine that it might give you a cavity. The screenplay, based on a true story and on John O'Leary's autobiographical novel On Fire: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life, suffers from on-the-nose dialogue and heavy-handedness while spoon-feeding the audience its messages. Yes, they're wise aphorisms, but the way they're integrated feels contrived, cheesy and lazy. The performances are decent, and the film isn't afraid to proudly wear its heart on its sleeve. That's a double-edged sword because it also means that it tries too hard to provoke the audience emotionally which is the equivalent of a piano player hitting the keys of the piano too hard over and over.