It’s difficult to invest in the trailer for Same Kind of Different as Me, which released today. Yes, it sheds light on the homeless and offers them humanity when they’re virtually written off by society, but the footage has the music, marital drama, and religious indicators lingering in the backdrop that one might expect from a cliched faith-based film about miracles and turning to God.

That said, the film touts some well-known names and a based-in-reality story that is a little difficult to believe.

Same Kind of Different as Me is directed by Michael Carney, whose only other directing credit is a short film titled Jew that explores the discrimination Jewish people still face. Based on the book by Ron Hall and Denver Moore, two polar opposite men who are characters in the film, the story sees the former as a wealthy international art dealer and the latter a dangerous, African-American homeless man with a hauntingly real past.


Watch the trailer below.

Greg Kinnear portrays Ron in the film as he struggles to keep his marriage together with wife Deborah (Renée Zellweger). It’s during this time that Deborah dreams of a man that she is shocked to discover is a real man, Denver (Djimon Hounsou). The couple befriend him despite the discrimination from the rest of the town, and it’s this relationship that changes all three for the better. Also featured in the film is Jon Voight, playing Ron’s father.

Carney worked with Alexander Foard (who had an acting role in Carney’s short) and the real Hall to craft the screenplay. More information on the people that inspired the story can be found on Hall's official website for the book.

Same Kind of Different as Me will hit theaters on February 3, 2017. Here’s the official synopsis:

“SAME KIND OF DIFFERENT AS ME” is the story of an international art dealer Ron Hall (Greg Kinnear) who must befriend a dangerous homeless man (Djimon Hounsou) in order to save his struggling marriage to his wife (Renée Zellweger), a woman whose dreams will lead all three of them on the most remarkable journey of their lives. Jon Voight plays Hall's father, with whom he reconciles thanks to the revelations of his new life.

greg-kinnear-same-kind-of-different-as-me
Image via Paramount Pictures