Universal Pictures' big-screen adaptation of author Francine Rivers's historical romance Redeeming Love (PG-13; 134 minutes) will be in theaters tonight with select Thursday Night screenings and receive a nationwide release on Friday.

Francine Rivers had authored several historical romances before becoming a born-again Christian in 1986. After taking a three-year break from writing, she read the Book of Hosea from the Old Testament, which inspired her to pen Redeeming Love, first published in 1991 by Bantam Books. Since its publication, the book has sold over three million copies and translated into 30 languages.

Redeeming Love is co-written by Francine Rivers and D. J. Caruso, who also directs the film. Abigail Cowen (Fate: The Winx Saga) stars as Angel, a troubled woman working as a prostitute in the gold mining town of Pair-A-Dice. Angel was sold into prostitution at an early age after her mother's death. She expects nothing but pain and heartache from everyone and everything around her. Well, until she meets Michael Hosea (Tom Lewis), a Christian farmer that comes knocking at her door. Unlike all other men that buy thirty minutes of her time, Michael wants nothing from her.

Michael proposes marriage to Angel but not for one second does she believe this man wants to marry her. Only after Michael rescues her from a dire situation does she agree to marry him. Michael brings Angel to his farm. Angel tries to mend her wounds, both physical and emotional. She is ashamed of her past and feels unworthy of Michael's love.

Co-starring are Logan Marshall-Green, Famke Janssen, Nina Dobrev, and Eric Dane.

Final Thoughts

Redeeming Love isn't your by-the-book Hollywood love story. It deals with dark themes of prostitution and abuse. The film must have barely gotten a PG-13 because of those dark themes; it could've easily received an R rating.

Abigail Cowen and Tom Lewis both give good performances. Rogier Stofffer's cinematography is both beautiful and dreadful at the same time. By dreadful, I'm referring to a few well-shot violent scenes that are difficult to watch due to the subject matter. The musical score by Brian Tyler and Breton Vivian was excellent.

Overall, Redeeming Love is an emotional tale about forgiveness and redemption. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the film. It's not a scene-by-scene adaptation. There were a few changes from the book, but nothing dramatic. Whether you've read the book or not, I highly recommend seeing Redeeming Love.

Many thanks to Universal for providing a sample of the product for this review. Opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. Please