(Image Source: Cook Allender/IFC Films)

BY: MEGAN NOE
ANCHOR: ANA COMPAIN-ROMERO

An atheist hero and a Christian villain in a story about religious conflict-- that’s groundbreaking territory in Hollywood. So will the new film The Ledge insult audiences-- or could it be the Brokeback Mountain for nonbelievers?

“‘What did God do to you to make you so angry at him? Look at the world that he created, all the beauty.’

‘Wars, and plagues, and genocides, and earthquakes, and tidal waves, and then after all that suffering, what does your God do next? He sends most of us to Hell.’”

The independently produced thriller centers around an affair between an atheist and the wife of a fundamentalist Christian. It’s written and directed by outspoken atheist Matthew Chapman, who tells CNN-- people between conservative Christianity and atheism are his target audience.

“‘There are many countries where… non-believers have a far better time of it than in America....I didn't make the film for atheists, but for people in the middle of the country questioning what it's all about.’’”

CNN reports a rapidly-growing number of Americans are unaffiliated with any religion-- but only a small minority identify as atheists. So can the film appeal to mainstream America? Bill Donohue of the Catholic League is leading the opposition.

“People of faith, especially Catholics, are used to being trashed by Hollywood, but they are not accustomed to films that promote atheism... something Chapman doesn't want to admit [is] it was the Judeo-Christian ethos of America that accounts for the unprecedented levels of justice and freedom enjoyed by non-believers.”

The film has been nominated for best drama at Sundance Film Festival and features a star-studded cast including Liv Tyler, Patrick Wilson and Terrence Howard. Still, a Discover Magazine blogger doubts whether even atheists will rally behind The Ledge.

“Atheists are not like Christians, in many, many ways. Psychologically...they are highly individualistic, not followers, not into heeding any authority, marching to their own drum. That is, of course, what makes them atheists and what makes them reject the dogmas of religion. And it is also what makes them regularly criticize their own.”

As a reviewer for the New York Observer says -- the movie’s success may ultimately depend less on theme and more on plot.

“At a time when most movies are not about anything important, this one deserves credit for tackling unpopular themes like religion-fueled homophobia and atheism. It eventually fails, not because of its philosophical ideas, but because it introduces so many of them at the same time that even a viewer with a score pad can’t keep up.”

The Ledge is now playing  in New York City and Los Angeles.