Courtney Howard // Film Critic
IS GOD IS
Rated R, 1 hour and 39 minutes
Directed by: Aleshea Harris
Starring: Kara Young, Mallori Johnson, Vivica A. Fox, Sterling K. Brown, Erika Alexander, Janelle Monáe, Mykelti Williamson, Josiah Cross, Xavier Mills, Justen Ross
Considering how complex the aesthetic and narrative demands are of IS GOD IS, it comes as a genuine surprise that filmmaker Aleshea Harris’ radical idea was first birthed as a play. Her compelling, fiery adaptation – centered on sisters on a mission from God, or at least the person they call God – finds renewed lustrous vigor and vitality on celluloid thanks to the craftsmanship woven into the film’s fabric and the performances from the two leads that keep the story’s heart and soul elevated. It never, ever feels stagey. Functioning as a Southern Gothic familial drama, Greek tragedy and modern Blaxploitation flick all rolled into one, the tonal swings function perfectly within its heightened atmosphere, refracting light and dark facets of characters’ humanity to a prismatic effect. Buckle your seatbelts and hang on for a wild ride.
Twenty-something twins Racine (Kara Young) and Anaia (Mallori Johnson) have always had each other’s backs. They’re two peas in a pod, carousing together and communicating telepathically. When one feels pain, or is in trouble, the other senses it. Though they bear the physical and emotional scars of a childhood surrounded by chaos and abuse, they rescue each other from going over the edge. Each has a defined personality. Racine is the hot-headed, petite protector of Anaia, who is kind-hearted, meek and far too naive for this cruel world. When the pair were kids, they were involved in a house fire that robbed them of their loving mother (Vivica A. Fox), left them with severe scars on their bodies and sent them into the foster care system.
One day, the gals receive a letter from someone who they believe is their long-lost mother, Ruby (a.k.a. the “God” in the film’s title). As a heavily-compression-bandaged Ruby is tended to by her scrubs-sporting ladies in waiting, she divulges to her daughters the horrific details of their family history. Ruby’s sinister, sociopathic ex/ the girls’ father (Sterling K. Brown) defied a restraining order, broke into their home, strangled her unconscious, doused her in gasoline and set her on fire. The young girls suffered burns of their own attempting to rescue her. Now that she’s dying, Ruby commands her girls to grant her deathbed wish: kill their evil father. As Racine and Anaia argue over the morality of their situation, their adventure tracking him down puts them in contact with his Bible-beating baby mama Divine (Erika Alexander), shifty lawyer Chuck (Mykelti Williamson) and new bougie wife Angie (Janelle Monáe) – and boy do our heroines learn a few shocking revelations.
Rage, revenge and redemption are themes oft utilized. Yet Harris thoughtfully deconstructs and reconstructs these sentiments in her tale, making them hit like a gut-punch. She showcases an impressive visual dexterity, using split screens to double the emotional undertow in certain sequences and applying a gorgeous sepia tone with occasional pops of color to counter the brutality of the flashbacks. Switching narrators every so often to capture the characters’ psyches is an electrifying element in her storytelling delivery. She also gives us eccentric supporting characters and pitch black humor that compare to KILL BILL’s scale and scope. Her villain, referred to in the end credits as The Man, reads as a cross between the elusive Bill and Elle Driver of that film.
Nevertheless, Harris’ creation has a wonderfully unique timbre all its own that reverberates long after the credits roll. She combines road movie tropes with those from intense family dramas and dark comedies, which is hard to pull off as effortlessly as she does. She doesn’t sugar coat anything, especially not the message that men are trash – whether they be Anaia’s boyfriend (who requests they only have sex from behind so he doesn’t have to look at her face) or the gals’ cadre of half-brothers (played by Josiah Cross, Xavier Mills and Justen Ross). The stereotypical “other women” deceived by The Man may seem like foolish, self-preserving caricatures, yet we see these are their protective facades hiding pain, betrayal and insecurity.
Anaia earns instant empathy because of her being bullied over something beyond her control and compassion for people who show her none. She’s also tasked to clean up her irascible sister’s messes, which are many and cause added stress to their precarious predicament. So we feel for her in that regard. Johnson’s performance is filled with vulnerability and nuance. Young is a magnetic screen presence, turning in commanding work. Racine’s universally understood justifiable anger, anguish and righteous indignation feels potent and palpable. She too earns our sympathy and empathy, but we also know she’s a deranged (a compliment!) little chaos demon who delivers swift justice.
Grade: A
IS GOD IS will be in theaters on May 15.
