Arriving a bit late to ride the fizzled momentum of the nation’s semiquincentennial, and a bit early for Christmas, patriotic musical “Drummer Boy” nonetheless should strike a chord with Christian audiences. It’s the first feature for several collaborators since 2024’s “Unsung Hero,” one of the bigger “faith-based entertainment” hits in recent years, though this tale set at the outset of the Revolutionary War is a considerably different enterprise. “Hamilton,” it’s not. Still, for those seeking a more sentimentally earnest take on early U.S. history with a more vanilla contemporary-pop sound, the latest release from Angel Studios provides a confident, mostly pleasing throwback to original screen musicals of yore.
“Drummer Boy” will largely appeal to preexisting fans of Grammy-winning Christian music act For King + Country — comprising brothers Luke and Joel David Smallbone, the latter of whom both stars and co-directs with third Smallbone brother Ben. Viewers preferring wholly secular entertainment may find it on the hokey side, but should appreciate that religious messaging is relatively soft-pedaled here in favor of a more generalized plea for societal “forgiveness and reconciliation” — something arguably well-timed in the immediate wake of a contentious midterm election.
Twelve years later, both clans have settled in Kingston, New York, that state’s eventual first capital. The Clems have established a grain mill, worked by mother Rachel (Melora Hardin) with now-grown sons Jeremiah (Joel David Smallbone) and Benjamin (Lucas Leach) — the latter still lamed by their fateful ocean crossing. Far above them in social station are the Balfours, who exert considerable political influence from a stately manse.
Soon they’ve all got more pressing concerns, as excess taxation and other colonialist abuses from distant England’s rule trigger the War for Independence. Citizens are bitterly divided, rebel-friendly Ben’s big mouth getting the Clems branded as “traitors” by those loyal to the Crown. Lest that kill off the family business, Jeremiah makes amends by signing up as a British Army redcoat under Lord Balfour’s command. They’re soon sent off to fight, and in angry pique Ben too leaves home, fast landing in the company of Patriot colonist forces led by Scotsman Major Ambrose (Iain Glen). He’s rejected at first due to disability, then proves his value with an impromptu drum solo — back then, percussionists issued the “charge command” and other signals to troops when ordered.
“Drummer Boy” avoids staging full-scale battles, though its hectic skirmishes in forests and such are probably an accurate-enough reflection of how the war was really won. (The more formal, rule-bound British fighting style was famously ignored and undermined by Yanks’ guerrilla tactics.) But then this is not exactly a grittily realistic flashback, or one terribly concerned with details of historical timeline.
But otherwise “Drummer Boy” makes no attempt to sound “period,” and the anachronism squeaks by because the emotions milked are also very Millennial-and-beyond, with those songs mostly limning “Dear Diary”-type internal monologue sentiments of personal aspiration and pining. Even the major theme of interracial love is handled with such romanticized discretion, neither race nor slavery ever actually get mentioned. As far as religious content goes, it’s a given that everyone here is Christian, but Richard L. Ramsey’s efficient screenplay treats the central conflicts as matters of human morality (or lack thereof), rather than tests of faith.
