Faith-based films have the unfortunate reputation of being, well, terrible. Films like God’s Not Dead (which somehow became a trilogy), Do You Believe? and Heaven is For Real have always made money, but have uniformly received terrible reviews by actual critics, despite the best efforts of a sometimes-name cast. Well, it happened, folks. A non-terrible faith-based movie has been made, and I went to see it in a movie theater.

The year is 1993, and we open in Louisville, Kentucky. Sharon (Hilary Swank) is a hairdresser with a drinking problem. After a bender, her friend (Tamela Jones) tells her she needs to get her life together. She reads a newspaper story about a family that has recently fallen on hard times. The matriarch of this family has recently died after a prolonged illness, leaving behind husband Ed (Reacher’s Alan Ritchson) and two young daughters, one of whom has significant health problems that are costing the family hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills.

Sharon, as an act of redemption for herself (we learn more about her as the film goes on), decides to help this family by raising money for their medical debts, and also by inserting herself into their lives. And one thing kind of leads to another, she helps out the family with small things, like babysitting the two children, and impossibly big things like finding money that isn’t there to settle the family’s impossible debts and charting a plane to a hospital during a critical moment, taking place in the backdrop of an apocalyptic snowstorm.

The significant reason I think this film works is because this never feels like a faith-based film. There are a couple mentions of faith and the presence or lack thereof of God, but ultimately this is a story about the power of human kindness and the power a single act of grace can have on a person who really needs it. It’s never preachy or clearly trying to push an agenda I was uncomfortable with, and it also doesn’t hurt that this is based on a true story, and judging from the ending crawl, it looks like they stuck pretty close to this family’s actual story.

Critically panned religion themed filmmaker Jon Gunn whose films I have not seen, directs a script co-written by Kelly Fremon Craig, who recently made Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret and The Edge of Seventeen, two films I loved very much, that capture something very specific and genuine about the coming-of-age experience. I had no idea she was involved with this until I was sitting in the theater watching the opening credits. And maybe her presence is what sets this thing apart. It never feels preachy and instead it radiates humanity and grace. And you can feel her wisdom and her warmth all over this thing.

Hilary Swank, who we don’t give roles like this to often enough anymore, is electric in Erin Brockovich mode, and this is a great vehicle for her as an everywoman who is on a journey to find redemption for herself and hope for the strangers she has taken under her wing. Alan Ritchson, who I am admittedly less familiar with, is perfect for this particular role, as this soft spoken family man faced with impossible challenges. His macho pride won’t let him initially accept Sharon’s help, and he even tells her at one point he resents it. But the way his character opens up and one particularly emotional scene, gives Ritchson a lot to work with. And he provides a great foil to Swank’s performance.

Ultimately I think Ordinary Angels works this well I think, because it’s a faith-based film about the faith we put in other people. It’s about the power of human kindness and the meaning of redemption. Again, there are only two vaguely Jesus-y moments in this movie and neither one annoyed me. This is a film full of strong performances, emotion that resonates, and a hopeful message that might leave you wanting to do something good for a fellow human being. It’s so nice to occasionally be reminded that people can be good if they choose to be, because it’s so easy to forget that in the world we live in now.