ACTS OF GOD

ACTS OF GOD by W. Reed Moran Investigating a string of church burnings, an Assistant US attorney plunges into a tinderbox of lies, racial tensions, and violence, perpetuated by Pastor Jacob – his estranged half-brother.

Virginia, 1995: Teen outcast Weasel bursts across a plain, rejoining his drunk friends to report a nearby church is on fire. To Weasel’s shock, they assume he has torched it, himself – and they applaud. In Washington, DC, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Esau awakens to an empty bed, abandoned by journalist girlfriend Amanda, only to learn, at work, that the most recent church burning – the 138th – harbors added significance: it was built by Civil Rights activist icon Isaac Freeman. Esau feels driven to tackle the case, himself, but the moment he arrives in the small town of Lynchburg, he is confronted with a wave of simmering tensions – stirred by Isaac’s son, Pastor Jacob Freeman, who has made the presumed racist arsonists his personal cause.
Hampered by avaricious FBI Agent Meyers, Esau tries to calm the town and stifle Jacob’s cries for justice – until Weasel and his friends are picked up, loud-mouthing about the fire, and Weasel makes a shocking confession: he is, in fact, the arsonist. Sensing there is more to the story, Esau overrules the gleeful Meyers and insists on appointing a public defender. While Jacob gloats to widowed mother Rebekah Freeman that the cause is transforming him into an international celebrity, Esau is shocked by the arrival of Amanda – dispatched by her editor boss to turn the story into front-page news. With the town clamoring for justice, Esau runs up against another major problem: Judith, Weasel’s lawyer, is black, and Weasel, putting on airs as a racist, refuses to speak with her. Sensing purposeful sabotage on Meyers’ part, Esau looks more closely at Weasel and his friends. Weasel, virtually illiterate, seems incapable of planning the arson job. At his indictment, Esau coaches Judith through having the charges dismissed by pointing out that no direct evidence links Weasel to the fire. Amanda, poised to pounce on the story, is furious.
As the town erupts in outrage, the enigmatic Sarah approaches Esau, urging him to let the past be the past, and to stop targeting Jacob. Jacob rallies his followers in a crusade against injustice, while Weasel, resentful over the untimely end to his fame, loads several bottles of gasoline and prepares to burn a church – only to be run off the road and nearly killed by Jacob’s vigilantes. Jacob then triumphantly announces a bottle of kerosene allegedly found near the rubble of Isaac’s church, but having searched the area, Esau knows Jacob is lying. Determined to confront him, Esau arrives on Rebekah’s doorstep with Sarah, Esau’s mother – who reveals to Jacob that Esau is also Isaac’s son. He and Jacob are half- brothers. What is more, on his deathbed, Isaac had meant to choose Esau as the heir to his legacy, but Rebekah jealously chose Jacob instead. As Jacob prepares to go live with a fresh volley of televised vitriol, Esau unearths actual evidence linking the fire to a national hate group. On air, Jacob has a change of heart, and proffers peace, admitting Weasel’s innocence, while Esau, presented by Jacob’s fuming producer with evidence that Jacob had an affair with her, decides to bury the tape – and the feud with his brother. Turning the case over to Meyers, Esau decides to take a leave of absence, prompting Jacob to offer him a position in town – and a chance at rebuilding their brotherhood.