Based on The New York Times bestseller by Donald Miller, BLUE LIKE JAZZ follows a devout 19-year-old college student as he impulsively transfers to one of the most liberal colleges in America. His new surroundings force him to confront some previously held biases and decide what it is that he truly believes.

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Blue Like Jazz digs into a realm little touched by American movies: the wrestling match between faith and doubt. Don (Marshall Allman, True Blood), after discovering that his mother is having an affair with his youth pastor, flees conservative Texas for the most radical place he can find: Reed College in Portland, Oregon. As he navigates romantic disappointment, civil disobedience, a lesbian best friend, and lots of alcohol, Don tries to not only hide his Christian background but repress his religious yearning--which only leads him to flounder until, after struggling through confusion, lashing out, and even humiliation, he reaches some equilibrium. Adapted from the memoir by Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz is an odd movie, episodic and muddled in some ways, squeezed into moviemaking formulas in others, and there are some sequences (such as Don imagining himself as a rabbit chasing a sexy carrot from Texas to Portland) that aren't going to make much sense to anyone who hasn't read the book. The greatest strength of Allman's performance is that it doesn't soft-pedal Don's disillusionment; his desire to escape his upbringing feels genuine, and the movie's conclusion doesn't seem predetermined. Blue Like Jazz doesn't reach the emotional richness of Higher Ground, another movie about the search for faith, but Don's struggle feels honest. That kind of integrity is rare and worth experiencing. --Bret Fetzer