Australian director Bruce Beresford had an incredibly productive decade in the 1980s. One of his first films, “Breaker Morant,” was nominated for best adapted screenplay. Then he received a best director nomination for “Tender Mercies” (1983), and his lead Robert Duvall received the best actor Oscar. By the decade’s end, his film adaptation of Alfred Uhry’s play “Driving Miss Daisy” won the Oscar for best picture in 1989. Then shortly afterward, his career seemed to fall off the radar.

But I recently discovered a surprisingly effective film Beresford made in 2016 called “Mr. Church.” This wonderful coming of age film about a young girl and her relationship with a family cook stars Eddie Murphy in a serious role. Murphy plays Henry Church, a chef who has a lasting friendship with a ten-year-old girl named Charlie, whose mother is dying of breast cancer.

Set in Los Angeles, this heartwarming story begins in 1971. Susan McMartin, producer and writer of sitcoms “Mom” and “Two and a Half Men,” wrote and adapted her autobiographical short story “The Cook Who Came to Live with Us,” which follows Mr. Church as he’s hired by the recently deceased, wealthy ex-boyfriend of Marie Brooks, Charlie’s mom. This boyfriend is aware Marie has been diagnosed with advanced cancer and is given only six months to live. So, he specifies in his will the funding of an expert cook’s services for her remaining time.

Miraculously, Marie recovers and sustains herself long enough that six months turns into six years as Church becomes a life-long companion to the family.  Young Charlotte (“Charlie”) narrates numerous parts of the film, and from the beginning, she says, “Henry Joseph Church could have been anything he wanted to be. He chose to cook. The key he said — jazz.”

We learn that Charlie’s dad abandoned her mother and her family, so there is an extra special bond between Charlie and her determined single mom. At first, Charlie thinks this middle-aged black man is an intrusion to her family, but she quickly learns to appreciate his cooking, interests in books and unique way of looking at the world.

With glee, she tells us, “The smells of his cooking were my alarm clock in the morning.” She notes that he never used measuring tools when he cooked, “He used his hands, fork and a knife,” and he loved his jazz music.  She even invites her best friend Poppy over for lunch to enjoy his special cooking delights.

About a half-hour in, the film transitions to 1977. Charlie is now a high school senior hoping to attend college at Boston University. She makes time for her ailing mom, and Church remains in their lives, cooking their meals and tending to Marie while Charlie’s at school.

One day, Charlie realizes the tragic inevitable happens when Church meets her at her bus stop to tell her that her mom has passed. Charlie’s reflections on people’s various reactions to her mom are shown with such loving realism as she concludes, “Some didn’t have to say anything, they didn’t have to,” because they showed it with their love. That’s exactly how I felt when I lost my grandmother, my first close relative who passed years ago.

The story continues into the mid-1980s when Charlie drops out of college and returns to Southern California when she becomes pregnant. Then she and her daughter, Isabella, continue their family relationship with Mr. Church.

Britt Robertson and Natalie Coughlin play Charlie at two different ages with effective compassion and emotional realism.  Yet, there is nearly no way to state how simply outstanding and evenly tempered Murphy is in this dramatic performance.  As Church, he creates such a calm, interesting and likable character that he makes you nearly forget most of his famous silly roles like Reggie Hammond, Axel Foley and Sherman Klump of the past. Adding to the mystery and richness of Church’s life, Charlie doesn’t know much about his private life away from her household. She frequently recognizes matchbooks from a local nightclub and eventually learns of Church’s other special skills.

Reportedly Samuel L. Jackson was the producers’ first choice for the role of Mr. Church. But I’m convinced Beresford’s selection of Murphy gave this film such an emotional heart. They couldn’t have picked a more ideal actor for this gem of a film.