Faith healer Jonas Nightengale and his manager Jane Larson break down in Rustwater, Kansas, a small, rural town suffering from a long drought. Learning they will be stuck there for four days waiting for replacement parts to come in for their truck, Jonas decides to hold revival meetings to help pay for the repairs.
Jonas and his staff use various cons to make it appear as if Jonas has divine knowledge granted by God. Despite his repeated diversions whenever he is asked when the drought will end, the townspeople find Jonas’s shows to be entertaining and hope-inspiring, and eagerly give their money to Jonas as donations.
Local sheriff Will Braverman is skeptical and decides to investigate Jonas' past. He learns that he is in fact Jack Newton, a native of New York City who lived a life of crime in his teen years. Braverman shares this information with the townspeople, who have gathered for another tent revival. Jonas storms off the stage, soon returning to successfully spin Braverman's report, leaving the crowd more energized than ever, much to Braverman's exasperation. Nightengale continues his dubious ministry over the next several days as Jane and Braverman find themselves falling for each other.
Nightengale attempts to begin a relationship with local diner waitress Marva, whose brother Boyd walks with crutches following an auto accident. She explains that doctors could not find anything physically wrong with him and his ailment is psychosomatic. Boyd comes to believe that Jonas can help him walk again. During a meeting, Boyd walks to the crucifix and touches the feet of Jesus. He drops his crutches and begins to walk unassisted. The awed crowd sweeps the stage. After the show, an enraged Jonas rails to Jane that he was conned and that Boyd upstaged him.
After the revival, Jonas enters the empty, darkened tent and mocks the crucifix and Christianity. Boyd walks in while he is talking and says he wants to join him on the road. Jonas agrees to meet him the following morning, implying he can come. Marva arrives and sends Boyd out of the tent. She thanks Jonas, who tells her that he will not be meeting her brother the next morning.
Jonas leaves the tent and sees the crowd that has gathered just outside it — many praying, some sleeping in groups, and others feeding the crowd that has gathered. He begins to understand that Boyd's miracle, and the faith that enabled it, are real after all. He packs a bag and departs alone under the cover of darkness, leaving behind his entire road show and hitching a ride with a truck driver bound for Pensacola, Florida.
When the driver asks if he is in trouble, Jonas replies, "No, no, no, no. No, sir. Maybe for the first time in my life I'm not." As they continue to ride along, the drought, threatening the crop harvest that is the centerpiece of the town's economy, comes to a dramatic end with a miraculous downpour. Jonas laughs silently to himself as he realizes the truth, and the film ends as he rides off into the stormy evening, hanging out the truck window loudly thanking Jesus for the rain.
The movie was filmed in Groom, Claude, and Tulia, Texas, though parts of the movie were filmed in Plainview, where the town water tower still has the fictional town mascot painted on the side. Michael Keaton was considered for the starring role, but ultimately Martin was cast.[2] The consultant for cons and frauds was Ricky Jay who was called in a 1993 article of The New Yorker as "perhaps the most gifted sleight-of-hand artist alive".[3]
David Picker was called in to help produce the film at short notice. He said filming quickly got behind schedule and he suggested the director, Richard Pearce, be fired. The studio refused this but allowed Picker to fire the cameraman and replace him with Matt Leonetti. According to Picker, Pearce was unable to handle Debra Winger and Lolita Davidovich.[4]
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 64% based on reviews from 22 critics. The site's consensus states: "Steve Martin's layered performance transcends Leap of Faith's somewhat undercooked narrative."[5]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three out of four, and wrote: "The movie itself has considerable qualities, among them Martin's performance as Nightengale. This isn't the sleek, groomed, prosperous Steve Martin we've seen in movies like L.A. Story. It's Martin as a seedy, desperate, bright, greedy man without hope."[6]Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote: "Well acted and amusingly told, featuring a fine performance by Steve Martin in the central role, this tale ultimately switches gears and takes a deeply serious turn."[7]
The Center Theatre Group presented the musical at the Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, with Rob Ashford as director and choreographer.[8] Performances began on September 11, 2010, with an official opening on October 3, 2010, running through October 24, 2010. Raul Esparza played the role of Jonas Nightengale and Brooke Shields played the role of Marva.[9] The musical began previews on Broadway at the St. James Theatre on April 3, 2012, and opened on April 26, 2012 before closing after only 20 performances. Direction was by Christopher Ashley, choreography by Sergio Trujillo, a revised book by Warren Leight, with a cast featuring Raúl Esparza as Jonas Nightengale, and Jessica Phillips as Marva.[10]
