Faith-based golf film lands in the rough

November 25, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

Orlando Sentinel

In “Seven Days in Utopia,” a mild-mannered young golfer has a mild meltdown in the middle of a tournament. That’s followed by seven days of perspective-patching among mild-mannered God-fearing folk in rural Texas. Faith and “fore” walk hand in hand — sort of — in this soft-centered faith-based drama starring Lucas Black of “Friday Night Lights,” “Get Low” and “Jarhead.”

Based on David L. Cook’s self-help novel, “Golf’s Sacred Journey: Seven Days at the Links of Utopia,” first-time director Matt Russell’s film follows aspiring pro Luke Chisholm (Black) as he explodes in a contained fury in a televised tourney where he had hoped to earn his pro tour card.

We’ve met the somewhat domineering dad (Joseph Lyle Taylor) who still caddies for his son and caused Luke to snap. We then follow Luke as he flees the spotlight and the embarrassment of his worst day on the course, turning up at a ranch in a small town where he figures nobody will know who he is.

Robert Duvall is the sage old rancher, Johnny Crawford, a fellow who enters Luke’s life on horseback.

Oscar winner Melissa Leo and wonderful character actress Kathy Baker are here to lend, well, character. But mostly, this is about Johnny playing golf guru to Luke.

If golf is “a good walk, spoiled,” then “Seven Days” is a potentially good golf movie stuck in a water hazard — as in “watered down.”

The movie opens with a Bible quotation — Isaiah 30:21, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” But the film seems to lose its nerve about this, too, soft-selling religion as it rubs rough edges off the characters.

“Seven Days” is beautifully shot — all rosy-hued back-lit back-swings — and its lighter moments have charm.

But “Seven Days in Utopia” lacks surprises and tension.