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…"

"Once every few years, there comes a movie that you know - you KNOW - is gonna be a genre-defining cult classic that critics (and devout fans) are gonna talk about for years and years to come. ‘Is God Is’ is one such movie. When someone recommended it to me and I watched the trailer, I knew I was gonna love it, but I didn't know that it would, in its own right, turn out to be a masterpiece. The blend of mystery, comedy, symbolism, horror, thrill, and social commentary that Aleshea Harris (writer, director) managed to create here is so perfectly balanced and timed that it's almost impossible to believe that this was Harris' directorial debut. This, of course, is immensely helped by the fact that Kara Young and Mallory Johnson give award-worthy performances as struggling twin sisters Racine and Anaia who have to set out on a mission from ‘God’ to find the monster that wronged them and ‘make him dead.’ Needless to say, this mission proves to not be as easy (nor as hard) as both women imagined it would be. I cannot recommend this movie enough to anyone that loves a good mystery thriller and a fun ride towards the resolution of it all. I for one know I'm gonna be rewatching it multiple times before the year is over and I'm gonna be closely following Harris' career cause I know that this kind of talent cannot be a one-off. The only problems I found with the movie were that it was partly funded by one of Hollywood's big 4 studios, and that it contains some minor elements in it that are not environnment-friendly. That said, I have to comment on how this movie is being received. Most people who have watched it in good faith seem to share my opinion. However, I've seen a lot of (mostly bitter White men) review-bombing this masterpiece all over the place (IMDb, TMDb, elsewhere) for irrational and irrelevant reasons that will become obvious to any sober viewer after they've watched it. For instance, the only other “review” here on TMDb so far is a perfect example of this review-bombing (that “review” was copy-pasted to IMDb too by the way). I mention this to make the point that despite all the review-bombing going on against it, it speaks lots of volumes that this movie has still managed to score higher-than-average ratings on these platforms. It's holding its own. This is to say that if my opening paragraph and the movie's trailer still don't make you wanna watch this masterpiece, then let the latter fact motivate you to do so."