Jay Rohr
Is God Is proves there is a rainbow to rage. Not because it reveals a bright side to the emotion, but rather how many colors exist across its spectrum. From the smoldering orange coal to blinding red hot eruptions, Is God Is tells a tragic tale of corruption as the traumatized seek revenge under the guise of justice. Though lopsided in quality, with some sections better than others, the film makes it to the finish with a certain finesse.
Racine and Anaia are two tightly bonded twins. Both were scarred by a fire in their youth, but Anaia is the most self-conscious due to her face being disfigured. Yet, woe to anyone who mocks her because Racine has always been quick to brutally defend her twin. One day the two receive a letter from their mother, whom they presumed died long ago. It summons them to the Dirty South where they are ordered by the dying woman to pursue a mission of vengeance. It seems their father set the three ladies on fire years ago, and now it’s time to seek some semblance of justice.
What transpires is meant to be part road trip as well as a descent into madness. The twins cross the United States searching for clues regarding their rogue father’s whereabouts. Each interaction they have with informative sources gets them closer to their target, while also furthering the downward spiral into violence. Is God Is then explores the moral corruption of sanctified violence while simultaneously examining unprocessed trauma. Not to mention misogyny, hypocrisy, faith, and family to name a few other thematic layers.
The film is based on a play by Aleshea Harris, who is thankfully the director of this adaptation. That allows the material to remain unapologetically African American, like her other stage works, What to Send Up When It Goes Down. There are additions to the film that have a mixed effect. Some improve the narrative, while others interrupt the momentum or muddle the movie’s logic in a way the play isn’t hampered by.
For instance, some dialogue between the twins is rendered as wordless exchanges with subtitles, including audiences in these psychic interactions. It’s an interesting take that adds to the characters. Meanwhile, extra scenes and roles added for various reasons typically slow the pace. Is God Is often loses energy, especially when treading over territory that doesn’t serve much purpose. Moreover, the different segments always feel like scenes rather than a flowing narrative, giving the film a clipped quality as it shifts sharply to different sections.
That said, Harris does a marvelous job giving Is God Is a visual dynamic that is continuously captivating. There’s a sense of style throughout the movie that makes the feature feel like it inhabits a cinematic world of its own. Plus, great color and lighting choices. One can’t help wondering what Harris might do at the helm of another motion picture.
The twins, played by Kara Young (I’m a Virgo) and Mallori Johnson (Kindred), are meant to offer an explorative complexity to events. Every act of violence is debated in the aftermath. Is God Is does an interesting job of never overtly sanctioning its bloody portions. Racine is a volcanic young woman full of pent-up fury seeking an excuse to erupt, while her softer sister Anaia presents an emotional foil disturbed, not only by brutality but the clear corrupting influence bloodshed has on her beloved twin. Part of the film’s emotional core is watching the close pair grow apart as their individual sense of morality becomes a rift. It leaves the audience wondering what the best course of action really is, especially given how monstrously the twins’ father is portrayed.
Sterling K. Brown (American Fiction) provides that role with a deceitful charm that makes his sinister side all the more loathsome. He is a poisonous serpent with a soothing hiss, lulling the unwary into striking distance. The build-up to meeting him is one of the feature’s best-handled narrative elements.
Violence throughout Is God Is can occasionally be a little too stylized. The impression of brutality or suddenness vanishes in the choregraphed dance that ensues. Still, the film, like the play, cleverly inserts some irony into any hostilities. At risk of spoilers, the twins bring death to the suicidal or slaughter people trying to escape the fiend that is their father. It makes certain deaths tragically unnecessary, turning each killing into something questionable.
Mallori Johnson provides a solid portrayal of a person getting caught in someone else’s current as her twin develops a lust for violence. However, some of her performance is lost due to the prosthetics meant to give her burn scars. Although well made, they tend to minimize her expressions; when Anaia isn’t speaking, the character loses a degree of depth without Johnson’s voice to convey feelings. Mallori doesn’t have the same nuance available to Kara Young, who has the facial freedom to show Racine shifting gears.
Janelle Monáe (Glass Onion) injects tragic frustration into a flustered character desperate to escape. Vivica A. Fox (Kill Bill: Vol. 1) is a commanding presence as the twins’ mother. It’s easy to understand why someone would think of her as SHE who is God. Erika Alexander (Get Out) infuses a certain comedy into her character that briefly lightens the dark mood of the movie.
Is God Is may have a few flaws. Fortunately, none of them derail the film. The additions and alterations to the play don’t always improve things, but the handful that do are impressive. Writer-director Aleshea Harris takes her award-winning drama from the stage to the screen, embracing a cinematic presentation’s potential to give it an electricity that live theater can’t offer. Meanwhile, pointed dialogue delivered by potent characters brought to life by superb performers makes the movie arresting even when it slows. Is God Is has a wonderfully unapologetic attitude about it, like a flash bang thrown into a crowd. Anyone looking for something refreshing outside the mainstream would do well to watch.
