As a Christian, I find that it is often difficult to find an entertaining movie that is not filled with sex and violence and that still appeals to an adult intellect. Too often, Christian movies are well intentioned but low budget. This movie is a welcome change. It is based on a book titled Hadassah, written by Tommy Tenney and Mark Andre Olsen. The book, Hadassah, is based on the Book of Esther in the Bible.

It is the true story of a young Jewish orphan girl named Hadassah, who lived in about 460 BC. Hadassah, though divine arrangement, became Esther, Queen of Persia and, through her faith and bravery, saved the entire nation of Israel from annihilation.

One Night With The King is entertaining with healthy doses of drama and romance. The acting believable and characters were well portrayed. The set design is impressive and effectively depicts the living conditions of the common people and the massive grandeur of the Persian palace.

I was impressed with the attention to detail, when at the beginning of the movie the audience was taken back hundreds of years before Esther lived. It was shown that through one act of disobedience to God, King Saul set in motion the events that almost caused the destruction of Israel by Haman, the villain of the story.

The movie plot closely follows the actual biblical account of Esther even though it takes some dramatic license in creating a story that appeals to the mass market. There are a few scenes that I would have directed differently, such as

Esther going to the king uninvited - instead of walking straight in to the King’s hall, she actually stood outside in sight of Xerxes until he acknowledged her

and her banquet – instead of Haman acting in a threatening way toward Esther, he was very arrogant and proud of himself for having been invited

but these differences do not take away from the integrity of the picture.
Overall, the biblical meaning remains. It is clear that God was in control when He orchestrated Esther’s presence in the palace. We see that her purity attracted the king’s love, she had faith in God’s care and she had the courage to save her people.

I think that even those who are not familiar with the Bible will enjoy this movie for its quality and learn something of God in the process. It may even cause some to read about Esther in the Bible to find out he whole, unabridged version.

Hadassah by Tommy Tenney at Amazon.com

The Hadassah Covenant by Tommy Tenney at Amazon.comm.