Leap of Faith

1992 • 107 minutes

About this movie

In a tour-de-force performance, Steve Martin plays Reverend Jonas Nightengale, a slick-as-oil flimflam man who'll trade salvation for a donation to his touring ministry. Jonas knows how to work a crowd and a con, but his works of wonder are done with mirrors and smoke. When his tour bus breaks down, Jonas pitches his tent in impoverished Rustwater, Kansas. While his alluring manager (Debra Winger) tries to persuade the local sheriff (Liam Neeson) not to close the show, Jonas sets his sights on a beautiful skeptic named Marva (Lolita Davidovich). But making a believer out of Marva is going to take a real miracle.

Ratings and reviews

Kudos to the cast, crew and *writers* on this well done story of a charlatan tent preacher who finds redemption when he stumbles into the real deal. Plus a love story!

Steve Martin in a role unexpected but well executed. Great ensemble cast, with parts filled by Meatloaf and Philip Seymour Hoffman adding the the overall telling of the story. A gem that did not receive the critical acclaim it should have.

One of my favorite movies. The music through out brings depth to what is showing on the screen. I love to ponder on the path that each character follows in the end. The look at the inside of a scam is enlightening.