A man (Matthew McConaughey) goes to the FBI to announce that his brother is the God’s Hand Killer. He then explains that when they were children, his father (Bill Paxton) saw an angel that told him to go kill people who were really demons. He always believed his father was insane, but his brother believed, and he has taken over the job.
A small movie with some big ideas, Frailty presents the audience with an interesting dilemma. The father is a caring man. He’s a stable part of the community. He isn’t a raving lunatic or religious fanatic (the younger son singing “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy” might suggest otherwise). He’s a good man who is doing what he thinks is right, what God tells him to do. So, was he insane? And, is Adam, the God’s Hand Killer, who picked up his father’s mantle, insane? If so, than just how insane are they? Aren’t their actions exactly what good, obedient Christians should do, if they hear God?
But what if neither of them were insane? Frailty gives ample reason to suggest they are hearing from God, and God wants them to kill. God is willing to have children kill, and if a father won’t kill his own son, God will not spare him. As for the demons, nothing says that they are supernatural. A demon appears to be someone who does bad things (which might just mean refusing God).
So the question is, if there is a God, THE God of the Bible, and he tells you to kill people, should you? Why should you do what God says? Is something right, good, just because he says so? Frailty suggests that if God speaks, maybe it would be better if nobody heard.