Is God Is

“When movie rating aggregation sites give a film high marks, one should expect that the picture delivers the goods (after all, those grades don’t spontaneously materialize out of thin air). But there are times when a vastly overrated release inexplicably (and undeservedly) gets good grades that leave one perplexed. Such is the case with the debut feature from writer-director Aleshea Harris in this adaptation of her award-winning play of the same name (2018). This unfocused, often-highly repulsive revenge thriller/road trip title with a modern-day Western vibe and Afro punk styling starts out reasonably well but degenerates about midway into the film and never recovers (I couldn’t wait to leave the theater). The film tells the story of twin sisters Racine, the rough one (Kara Young), and Anaia, the quiet one (Mallori Johnson), who are severely burned in a childhood incident when their coldly malevolent father (Sterling K. Brown) viciously attempts to kill their mother, Ruby (Vivica A. Fox). The girls, who have been parted from their mother for years (believing her to be dead), call her “God” since she, like their divine progenitor, created them. But, much to their surprise, Racine receives a letter indicating that she is still alive, a notice that prompts an in-person visit during which Ruby explains what happened and instructing them to kill him. Anaia is opposed to the idea, but Racine is all out for “justice” (i.e., vengeance). Thus begins the twins’ search to find the man who nearly killed their mother and scarred them for life, an outcome that exposed them (especially Anaia) to repeated ridicule and Racine’s highly protective measures to spare her sister’s agony. At first glance, one might see this as a plausible premise for a big screen thriller, an idea made all the more fun by its quirky attributes that, in the picture’s opening half (and in its highly misleading trailer), make the film come across like an eccentric, campy Coen Brothers production. To be sure, the road trip starts out moderately amusing, with encounters involving colorful scenarios and characters expertly played by the likes of Erika Alexander, Mykelti Williamson and Josiah Cross. However, as noted above, the film takes a hard left halfway through and turns into little more than a troubling, pointless, highly stylized slasher film with cruel, graphic, uninhibited violence that makes one wonder what the filmmaker is going for (do we really need to see such appalling imagery?). Yes, yes, as the film’s title implies, there are alleged religious/spiritual undertones here symbolically dealing with concepts of good vs. evil (or god vs. devil) and the so-called “obligation” to do whatever our “faith” dictates, no matter how bizarre or reprehensible (it’s indeed difficult to fathom how “God” would want his/her/its/their name associated with such a vile project). These contextual “nuances,” however, are a lot more obvious and predictable than this release likes to think they are. And, to make matters worse, there are plenty of story threads that come out of left field and are intrinsically underdeveloped or unresolved; wasted talent, as evidenced, for example, by the positively dreadful supporting performance of Janelle Monáe (she went from her stellar work in “Moonlight” (2016) and “Hidden Figures” (2016) to this?); the incorporation of inherently enigmatic but largely unexplained character attributes as a pale substitute for meaningful character development; and a storyline open to more wildly diverse speculation and interpretation than Heinz has varieties. To its credit (an observation I make reluctantly), the picture features an array of highly intense performances (particularly by Young, Johnson and Brown), and perhaps they accurately reflect painful, troubling real world conditions, but they’re hardly enough to salvage the project (and, again, make me ask, do we really need to see this?). Sadly, “Is God Is” represents a prime example of what’s innately wrong with the domestic film industry these days and marks the need for a drastic change in the thinking of Amazon Studios, the latest woeful entry in a string of woeful entries from this creator-distributor. In short, to quote from the title of one of film critic Roger Ebert’s books, the best way to characterize this disappointing, excessive, unwarranted offering is simple: “Your Movie S*cks.” Next, please…”