We are living in an exciting era of first time directors emerging with exciting new stories to tell in cinema. Just this year alone, we’ve gotten some of the best films of the year from these newcomers, including Obsession, Blue Heron, and now Is God Is. These first timers are coming out of the gates swinging, building on the veteran foundations of the past and injecting their own unique visual style into timeless yet original tales. Aleshea Harris effortlessly converts her award winning stage play to the big screen, approaching everything with such assured confidence you’d think she’d been making films her whole life.
Is God Is is a bold, stylish tale of revenge that unapologetically allows women – particularly black women – to let slip the dogs of justified anger and passion. Make no mistake: Is God Is is an angry, angry film, filled with rage against the machine of misogyny, the patriarchy, cyclical violence inflicted by violent unaccountable men, and the forgotten struggles of black women.
It is so thematically rich it’s hard to properly parse out all of the things Harris is trying to say. Is God Is is masterfully crafted, balancing all of its themes on a high voltage tight wire with electricity soaring through its foundational powerlines. It smartly utilizes its clear inspirations – Quentin Tarantino, spaghetti westerns, ancient Greek tragedies – to power her premise but never falls into the trap of being just another Tarantino copycat. This is not Temu Kill Bill despite the very apt comparisons being made out there.
A Tale of Revenge and Vengeance
Written and Directed by Aleshea Harris, Is God Is follows two twins (Kara Young, Mallori Johnson) who were nearly burned alive by their absent father when they were very young, a fire that left them with terrible scars. They share an almost psychic connection and are inseparable as sisters, doing everything together as one. Racine and Anaia may be different in personality – Racine is the Rough One and Anaia the Quiet One – but they are in sync nearly all of the time, speaking in their own unique cadence that only they can fully understand.
When they receive a letter from their mother whom they believed to have died in the fire, they decide to go to meet her for the first time. Laying on her deathbed, she tasks them one final wish: “Make your daddy dead. Real dead.” This sets them on a path for vengeance as the make the journey to track him down and do as god says. Is God Is also stars Erika Alexander, Janelle Monae, Sterling K. Brown and Vivica A Fox.
Harris is in complete control of her chaos, drawing from thriller and revenge tropes to reshape them in her own image. Her visual style is undeniable, creating a crowd pleasing story of vengeance with a whole lot on its mind beneath the surface. The way she’s able to imbue Is God Is with layers and layers while also delivering a simple story of revenge on the surface is masterful. There is so much depth to this righteous fury baked into Is God Is it’s easily get lost in the weeds of its emotional, moral, and philosophical core.
Smart Filmmaking and Excellent Cast
But Harris is smart enough to make sure that on the surface, its an entertaining thrill ride fueled with a visually arresting style, brutal violence, and a consistently engaging journey. Is God Is is dark and unsettling and the kind of profound independent cinema only cinephiles rave about while simultaneously being a big, bold, crowd pleasing thriller. That’s hard to do for even the most accomplished filmmaker, and Harris’ execution is nearly flawless for a first timer behind the camera. It’s not just an impressive feat; Is God Is is an announcement: Aleshea Harris has arrived.
There’s no weak link in the cast. The veterans are all on their A game and even in their limited screen time, they make a meal out of every second. Brown in particular is genuinely terrifying, a monster in human skin that represents the worst of humanity and a manifestation of the worst of violent men. He is not fully revealed until the last 20 minutes of the film, and while his presence looms large over the entire story, sitting down at the table with him proves to be even more unsettlingly than anyone could imagine. Fox, Monae, and Alexander all get their time to shine, representing the wake of destruction Brown’s character leaves behind everywhere he goes.
The Twins Shine the Brightest
Is God Is’ secret weapons are Young and Johnson, two relatively unknowns who explode onto the screen and fill every frame with their magnetic presence. Young in particular is a powerhouse, shouldering most of the propulsive action and wearing her internal rage on her sleeve. Is God Is brilliantly sets them on their path and slowly but surely disconnects them as the rage and reality begin to take over. Anaia is forgiveness while Racine is the fury, and a line spoken by someone they meet along the way rings true and contributes to a growing rift between them: “Be careful with vengeance. You never know where the blood is gonna land.”
And that’s just one expression of Is God Is that comes to the forefront; a cautionary tale of violence begetting violence and the consequences of revenge. Even when that revenge is justified, Harris wants us to know that it will take its toll on everyone involved. It may be a dish best served cold, but in the end no one really gets out of it all alive or is left the same. For a film largely fueled by death, Is God Is feels alive at every moment. It’s a buzzing, electrically charged thriller that moves at a relentless pace and keeps that fire burning even when we pause for some more emotional beats.
Raw, Gritty, Grounded World Building
Everything feels lived in even when it feels fantastical, the impoverished surroundings of the towns they stop by on their hunt juxtaposed by The Monster’s lavish mansion builds the world to exist somewhere between hyper stylized fantasy and grounded social commentary reality. Again, the amount of ideas Harris packs into such a taut, straightforward, familiar but unique tale is as masterful as it is mesmerizing. Just the settings and surroundings in Is God Is have a purpose, and there really isn’t a wasted frame or beat as it hurdles towards its final conclusion. Harris’ skill paired with her deep sense of profundity and undeniable cast all work to set Is God Is apart, not just from its peers but from the very inspirations that make it.
Final Thoughts
There’s so much more to say about Is God Is, but we’ll just leave it at this: it is one of the best films of the year so far and a true can’t miss cinema. THIS is what we mean when we say we want new, original films. This is what movies can be, stripped of its digitalized sheen and carefully calculated box office algorithms. A revenge story burning with unbridled rage but also a tender, emotional story of sisterly love. Gritty and raw and unafraid, Is God Is is both thematically complex but cinematically simple, a trojan horse of profound ideas presented with crowd pleasing execution.
Is God Is blew me away, and I’m all in on whatever Harris wants to do next. If this is what she can do with her own material and her first foray into filmmaking, then the sky is the limit for this bold new visionary.
Don’t fumble Is God Is the way you fumbled Nickel Boys, Amazon. If you do, I’ve got a sock with a rock waiting.
Rating: 9 out of 10
Is God Is is now playing in theaters. You can watch the trailer below.
