A Great Awakening

The film is framed by Benjamin Franklin's reminiscences during the 1789 Constitutional Convention, looking back on his decades-long friendship with the evangelist George Whitefield. The story begins at Oxford, where the young Whitefield — burdened by a lazy eye and low social standing as a servitor — joins the 'Holy Club' alongside Charles and John Wesley. Desperate to earn salvation, Whitefield subjects himself to extreme asceticism, fasting for nearly a month until he almost dies. John Wesley intervenes, convincing him that God's love cannot be earned through self-punishment. After his baptism, Whitefield becomes a fiery, passionate evangelist. He preaches outdoors to coal miners, the poor, and enslaved Black individuals across England and the American colonies, offering a message of spiritual equality and being 'born again.' A powerful scene depicts baptismal water turning dark from the soot of miners, symbolizing spiritual cleansing. William Seward, a fellow Oxford student who once defended Whitefield from bullying, later joins his ministry as a loyal supporter. In Philadelphia around 1739, Whitefield's open-air preaching catches the attention of Benjamin Franklin, a deist and printer. Franklin is astonished by how far Whitefield's voice can carry across crowds. Initially viewing Whitefield cynically as a business opportunity, Franklin plans to profit by printing the preacher's sermons. Despite his skepticism toward Christianity, Franklin gradually develops a genuine friendship with Whitefield and becomes one of his greatest promoters, documenting his profound influence on colonial society. As Whitefield's revival movement — the first Great Awakening — sweeps the colonies, it unites fractured communities and plants seeds of liberty and self-governance. However, the film does not shy from Whitefield's flaws. Franklin confronts Whitefield about his hypocrisy: while the preacher condemns the cruelty of slavery in his sermons, he himself uses enslaved labor at his orphanage in Georgia. This tension complicates their friendship but does not sever it. During their final meeting, Whitefield urges Franklin to 'trust in Jesus Christ for salvation.' Franklin, a lifelong deist, initially rejects Christ's divinity. But by 1789, as the aging Franklin sits at the Constitutional Convention with the young nation's future at stake, he reconsiders Whitefield's words. Inspired by his late friend's faith, Franklin undergoes a spiritual shift and addresses the Convention with his historically documented speech urging the delegates to pray to God for guidance while drafting the Constitution. The film closes on the idea that true liberty must be awakened in the hearts of the people, not merely written into law.

Sources: Wikipedia, Plugged In, Official site (agreatawakening.com), IMDb, TMDb