Given this is the directorial debut of the man who scripted Bill & Ted and Men In Black, you'd expect a frothy comedy - especially with that title. Yet it's a film of contradictions: happy title/sombre subject matter, big-name cast/ low-key atmosphere.
Thornton stars as Manual, a convicted murderer who's released against his will and seeks redemption by befriending the sister (Hunter) of his victim.
Solomon keeps things ambling along comfortably, but Thornton's Manual is too ineffectual to fully engage and the grubby inner-city setting feels a little false. Still, Morgan Freeman's entertaining as a gruff pastor, and there's nothing bad enough to warrant Levity's distinctly below-the-radar position.