Ordinary Angels, the critically acclaimed drama starring Hilary Swank and Alan Ritchson, has landed on Netflix. First released in 2024, the film – directed by Jon Gunn – is based on the true story of Sharon Stevens Evans, a hairdresser from Kentucky who became determined to help five-year-old Michelle Schmitt, a toddler in need of a life-saving liver transplant, who had just lost her mum.
In a bid to save Schmitt, Evans launched a huge fundraising campaign in 1994, while also encouraging members of the local community to rally around the Schmitt family. She went on to document her experiences in her 2023 memoir, Ordinary Angels.
At the helm of Gunn's film adaptation, Swank portrays Evans, while Ritchson inhabits the role of Ed Schmitt, the recently widowed father of daughters Ashley (Skywalker Hughes) and Michelle (Emily Mitchell). Rounding out the cast, Nancy Travis, Tamala Jones, Drew Powell, Nancy Sorel and Amy Acker also star.
Speaking with TODAY, Swank noted that Evans's story had made a huge impression on her. "She's larger than life. She is like a force of nature, Sharon, and she is flawed, and she's imperfect, like we all are," the actor began.
"And she's going through her life and loses her faith and then gets an opportunity to find her truest purpose by helping this family, and this young girl. And then gets a chance to regain her faith."
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A film which received glowing reviews, Ordinary Angels holds a Certified Fresh score of 84% on Rotten Tomatoes.
"What lifts the picture beyond average inspirational fluff is the way director Jon Gunn and company control the slow release of its sweetness so as not to overpower. Even cynics will be won over by the human kindness on display," wrote Variety.
Echoing this sentiment, The Hollywood Reporter raved: "This film starring Hilary Swank as a Kentucky hairdresser who rallies her community on behalf of a widower and his seriously ill three-year-old daughter proves irresistible with its powerful feel-good story."
"Ritchson is the biggest surprise of the movie," added The Washington Post. "Sun-baked into worn denim and work boots, sporting a moustache and a lived-in twang, he's the anti-Reacher. A tender girl-dad to the ailing Michelle and her observant older sister Ashley."
Ordinary Angels is available to stream on Netflix.
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