Year Released: 2025
Directed by: Sean McNamara
Starring: Joel Courtney, John Corbett, Stephanie Szostak, William Macy, DeVon Franklin
(112min. PG)
Genre: Drama Based on True Story

“The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.” French Marshal Ferdinand Foch

Do you need to be inspired? Are the winter doldrums getting you down? No more eggnog, favorite Christmas films, or feasting on delicious treats?

Well, Different Drummer has the perfect solution. It’s the heartfelt film, Soul on Fire, based on a true story.

In 1987, nine-year-old John O'Leary survives a terrible accident and grows into a man who show us what it means to truly live.

Facing unimaginable odds, a boy who survives severe burns goes on to transform his past into a message of hope and resilience in this heartfelt biopic.

The film keeps us enthralled by focusing on the pivotal moments in the life of John O’Leary, who in at age nine, was burned over 100 percent of his body and was given less than a 1 percent to live.

Except for one name we recognize, William Macy, the other actors are relatively unknown. No, they are not up there with Anthony Hopkins, Gene Hackman, or Morgan Freeman, but they make up for falling short of these icons with their complete dedication and sincerity.

One of these pivotal scenes involves John (Joel Courtney) and his mother (Stephanie Szostak) after they have heard the terrible news at the hospital

"Am I going to die?" John askes her.

Instead of offering a standard comfort, his mother asks him: "John, do you want to die? It's your choice, not mine".

When he tells her he wants to live, she gives him just the right encouragement:

"Then Baby, you need to fight like you’ve never fought before. You need to take the hand of God and you need to walk this journey with Him."

Those words are infectious, too, when male nurse (DeVon Franklin) overhears them. Once he knows John wants to live, he dedicates himself to making it happen.

“You will walk again,” becomes a statement of fact, not just a hope. But like John’s mother, Nurse Roy does not sugar coat anything. Especially the daily and excruciating changing of his bandages, or the long effort to get him on his feet. The film lets us taste these horrors, enough to let us understand, but not enough to drag us with them into those awful months.

Another pivotal scene involves John’s interactions with Buck, the beloved Sportscaster (William Macy) for John’s cherished St. Louis Cardinals. Buck comes unsolicited to John’s hospital bed and tells him that he will be able to do “almost anything” once he survives. That visit is just the beginning of many. In fact, John becomes Buck’s project, and he tells his story on air.

Still another is with Beth, the beautiful girl John meets in college, who he assumes, is “out of his league.” Their interactions mirror John’s decisions and growth:

Beth: Why would a man who can’t even hold a hammer choose to become a contractor?

John: I guess I like to see houses as what they can be, not what they are.

John’s father Dennis (John Corbett ) has the unshakeable optimism that guides his son through his darkest moments, too.

You can't always choose the path you walk, but you can choose the way you walk it." -

If you focus exactly on loving the life you’re living right now and not on the life you think you think that you could have had, or should have had, that’s the whole deal right there. –Dennis

You built a good life out of the ashes. –Dennis O’Leary

You can find another pivotal scene in the Film Loving Foodie section below, too. You might never look on eating Scalloped Potatoes in the same way again.

This review just touches the surface of this fine film that will fill you with hope, review your faith in the human spirit, and have you counting your blessings daily.

Not to miss.

Kathy Borich
🥁 🥁 🥁 🥁

Trailer

Film-Loving Foodie

After 5 months in the hospital, John O’Leary’s homecoming is very special. All the doctors and nurses line up to cheer this heroic boy like he’s a star football player striding onto the field. Then, it’s all the neighbors on his street cheering as well.

His family pulls out all the stops, too. The table is set with special red dishes signifying his victory and perhaps as a tribute to his favorite team, the St. Louis Cardinals. And his mother has even made his favorite dish, Potatoes Au Gratin.

John struggles to eat it, though, since all his fingers have had to be severed. His sister tries to help him, but his mother wisely cautions against it. She wants him to be independent and leaves him to figure out some way to hold his fork by himself. Which he eventually does, albeit long after everyone else has finished eating.

A sort of forced independence, or tough love as one might call it, is what sets John up to meet all the challenges ahead with the same determination.

Ours is a simple recipe. After all, taking care of a family of 6 and spending hours and hours with john at the hospital doesn’t leave Mom much time to dawdle with any of those fancy recipes that call for 3 kinds of exotic cheeses.

Potatoes Au Gratin

Ingredients

2 1/2 lb potatoes, thinly sliced
1 md white onion, thinly sliced
2 c heavy cream
8 oz sharp cheddar, shredded and divided
1/4 c all-purpose flour
salt and pepper, to taste
1 c grated Romano cheese

Directions

STEP 1

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Peel and slice potatoes very thin. Slice onions thin as well. Place them both in a large mixing bowl.

STEP 2

Add to the potato and onions, 2 cups of heavy cream, flour, and 1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. Toss until completely mixed.

STEP 3

Spray a shallow baking dish with non-stick spray. Transfer the mixture to the baking dish and spread out evenly.

STEP 4

Top with remaining cup of shredded cheddar and Romano cheeses.

STEP 5

Bake about 45 to 50 minutes until potatoes are tender and the top is nicely browned.

STEP 6

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