Never Look Away Christian Review
Some films grip you with their polish—slick editing, a rhythmic pace, a tidy conclusion. Others are more jagged, their edges raw enough to catch on your thoughts long after the credits have rolled. Lucy Lawless’s debut documentary, Never Look Away, falls into the latter category. It’s not a film that wants to entertain you, at least not in the traditional sense. It’s one that challenges you to sit with discomfort, to stare at the human condition and ask yourself, “How far would I go for the truth?”
Moth in the Light
At the center of this film is Moth—a journalist whose name alone feels like an analogy waiting to happen. Drawn to the flame of war zones and perilous truths, she’s not just a reporter; she’s a living question. What compels someone to walk willingly into danger, to peel back the layers of humanity at its most vulnerable, even when it costs them everything?
The film doesn’t answer this question neatly, and maybe it shouldn’t. What we see is Moth’s relentless pursuit of stories that matter, of truths that must be told even when they’re painful, messy, or inconvenient. There’s something biblical about her journey—something of the prophets who carried messages no one wanted to hear but everyone needed to.
Watching Moth navigate her path, I found myself thinking about the sacrifices we’re willing to make for our callings. As Christians, we often talk about “taking up our cross” (Luke 9:23), but how often do we really understand what that means? For Moth, her cross is a life lived on the edge, bearing witness to suffering and carrying the weight of those stories home with her.
Journalism as a Kind of Ministry
What struck me most about Never Look Away was how much Moth’s work felt like a kind of ministry. She’s not a preacher or a theologian, but her relentless quest for truth felt deeply spiritual. There’s a vulnerability in the way she immerses herself in her work, not as a detached observer but as someone willing to be transformed by the stories she tells.
In one of the film’s quieter moments, Moth reflects on the toll her work has taken. “It’s not just about telling the story,” she says, “It’s about letting it change you.” That sentiment resonates deeply with the Christian call to empathy—to mourn with those who mourn, to carry each other’s burdens (Romans 12:15, Galatians 6:2).
Lawless’s direction captures this beautifully. The camera lingers on Moth’s face, not in a voyeuristic way, but as if trying to understand what drives her. It’s a reminder that truth-telling isn’t just an intellectual exercise; it’s a deeply personal, deeply human act.
Scratching the Surface
As much as the film succeeds in showing us Moth’s present, it falters when it comes to exploring her past. There are hints of trauma, flashes of vulnerability that suggest a deeper story waiting to be told. But Lawless never fully dives into these moments, leaving us with more questions than answers.
For some, this might feel like a missed opportunity. Trauma shapes us, often in ways we don’t fully understand, and exploring Moth’s past could have added another layer of complexity to her story. At the same time, there’s something poignant about the gaps in her narrative. They remind us that no one’s story is ever fully knowable—not even to themselves.
From a Christian perspective, this omission feels both frustrating and familiar. We live in a world that often wants tidy resolutions, but faith teaches us that some mysteries aren’t meant to be solved. The Apostle Paul wrote about seeing “through a glass, darkly” (1 Corinthians 13:12), and Never Look Away embraces that ambiguity.
War, Peace, and the Spaces Between
One of the film’s underlying themes is its quiet but powerful anti-war message. Lawless doesn’t beat you over the head with it; instead, she lets the human cost of conflict speak for itself.
The scenes from war zones are stark, unflinching. They don’t feel staged or manipulated, which makes them all the more haunting. But what stays with you aren’t the images themselves—it’s the stories behind them, the faces of people caught in the crossfire of history.
For Christians, this theme resonates deeply. Jesus called us to be peacemakers (Matthew 5:9), to turn swords into plowshares (Isaiah 2:4). Yet we live in a world where war feels almost inevitable, where the cycle of violence seems unbreakable. Never Look Away doesn’t pretend to have solutions, but it forces us to confront the reality of what’s at stake.
A Debut That Dares
As a first-time filmmaker, Lucy Lawless takes risks that many seasoned directors wouldn’t. Her style is unpolished in places, almost chaotic, but that chaos feels intentional. It mirrors the subject matter, the way truth itself is often messy and hard to pin down.
There are moments when the film feels overwhelming, when the pace and scope threaten to drown the viewer in information. But even in these moments, there’s a raw honesty that keeps you engaged. Lawless doesn’t sugarcoat anything, and that’s part of what makes the film so compelling.
Faith in the Tension
For me, what lingers most about Never Look Away is its willingness to dwell in the tension between hope and despair, purpose and pain. It doesn’t offer easy answers, but it doesn’t leave you in hopelessness either.
As Christians, we’re called to live in that same tension. We know the world is broken, but we also know it’s being redeemed. We’re called to bear witness to suffering, not as passive observers but as active participants in God’s work of restoration.
Moth’s story isn’t a Christian one, at least not explicitly. But it carries echoes of the Gospel—the idea that love and truth often come at great personal cost, but that they’re worth it.
Final Thoughts
Never Look Away is not a film that wraps things up neatly. It’s messy, complicated, and at times difficult to watch. But it’s also deeply human, and in that humanity, it points to something larger.
For Christians, it’s a reminder of our call to seek truth, to embrace sacrifice, and to live authentically, even when it’s hard. It’s not a perfect film, but it’s an important one—one that will leave you reflecting on its questions long after the credits roll.
Rating: 8/10
It’s not for everyone, but for those willing to wrestle with its complexities, Never Look Away is a film that offers much to think about and even more to feel.
