Corrina, Corrina

Honestly, I love how they portray religion in this film. To me Christianity is about bringing comfort, not blind hope. Some think that God isn’t real, but they choose to believe in God because it brings them comfort and a peace of mind. Yes, Manny is an atheist and knows that God isn’t real. When he calls on God for help at the end of the film, he hasn’t been brainwashed into thinking that God is real. Corrina hasn’t converted him into a devout Christian. He is willing to seek God when he is struggling because he wants to be consoled. This is something he has refused to receive this whole film. From the beginning of this film, Manny has been adamant on his beliefs and is unwilling to even let Corrina spread her religion to his child. He explains that he and his late wife were atheists, and so he wants to keep it that way for his daughter. As well as denying Corrina in giving solace to him and his child as he denies Christianity and the mentioning of Heaven, Manny does not want to move on from his wife. He wants to keep everything about her as it always was, including religious beliefs, going so far as to keep his own child in the dark when he refuses to acknowledge her mother’s death. When Corrina provides his child with an outlet to alleviate her grief, Manny attempts to take it away, exclaiming that Heaven is a concept used to give others false reassurance - to which his own child replies “What’s wrong with that?”. What’s wrong with seeking comfort? What’s wrong with wanting to believe in something imaginary like heaven in order to feel better?  Manny does not want to feel better. He wants to be swallowed with grief and anger as he is still unable to part ways and forgive his wife for leaving him. But between falling in love with Corrina, who wants to bring him solace and knows his pain all too well with losing a husband herself, and with his daughter, who welcomes Corrina’s warmth and ideologies with open arms and is slowly healing from her grief, Manny resolves his anger and becomes more lenient with Christianity. Of course, he is still an atheist, but he is willing to rely on the idea of God (comfort) from time to time as Corrina has used God herself to help the family overcome their mourning, as well as her own. He seeks comfort, so he seeks God. He seeks Corrina, who is his salvation in his time of need. By the end of the film, Manny finally wants to be helped; for his sake and for his daughter. Christian Corrina is the key to make their lives whole again. And let me just say again how much I love how religion was shown in this film. No forcing religion, no extremism, no perjury of non-religious people. This film just shows one of the many reasons people turn to God for help.