Is God Is, 2026.
Written and Directed by Aleshea Harris.
Starring Kara Young, Mallori Johnson, Sterling K. Brown, Janelle Monáe, Vivica A. Fox, Erika Alexander, Mykelti Williamson, Josiah Cross, Aleshea Harris, Xavier Mills, and Justen Ross.
SYNOPSIS:
Two sisters embark on an epic quest for revenge, confronting a charged family history that will push them to extraordinary lengths.
Twin burn victims of different severities, Racine and Anaia (played by Kara Young and Mallori Johnson, respectively), refer to themselves in writer/director Aleshea Harris’s Is God Is (a debut feature based on her stage play) as the rough one and the quiet one. There is a chance you can guess which one was more affected based on the little information provided here, but suffice to say, having a noticeably scarred card face and upper body has left the latter relatively shy since childhood, with the former often getting into fights on behalf of her sister, who was being bullied.
Yes, a vengeance plot quickly kicks in, but this is just as much about sisterhood, the unfortunate perceptions and nasty remarks people are subjected to whenever they look remotely different from the average person (one could also draw a pair of those to the ways anyone with a facial difference is treated), and the long, often hard journey to feel comfortable in one’s condition or developing a sense of confidence. From strangers to coworkers, it probably isn’t much of a surprise that Anaia is often treated almost inhumanely, as if she shouldn’t even be walking around in public or working, and as if she mightas well be a monster. Even her unseen client isn’t man enough to look her in the eyes when they are sexually intimate, suggesting that he do it from behind.
The irony in all of this is that there is a monster in the film, and there is nothing wrong with his face. No, he’s the one who burned them in the first place. Well, technically, he was setting their mother on fire with casual cruelty, as the daughters tried to do everything they could to help (such flashbacks are also shown with muted colors, not quite black and white, but more than enough so blood strikingly pops whenever on the screen in those sequences). Sterling K. Brown is quietly menacing and unpredictable in the role, aptly dubbed The Monster. Furthermore, these dynamics come across as a middle finger to the frustratingly long-storied history of cinema, as relegating anyone with a facial difference to a quirky, nefarious villain.
Estranged from their mother as well, the girls have also received a letter from their dying mother, referred to as God (Vivica A. Fox), with one request: make their daddy dead, dead dead! Perhaps unsurprisingly, Racine is all-in, as she feels this is a long time coming. Meanwhile, Anaia is uncertain of how letting a thirst for revenge will affect them, noticeably growing increasingly out of sync with her sister, as the thought of killing him potentially becomes a reality. She’s not just the quiet one, but also the more rational one.
A bond that dynamically includes visual flourishes, such as the sisters telepathically communicating with one another through on-screen subtitles (stylized with all lowercase font, lending a sense of attitude in itself) to express that they are on the same page just as much as some of the symmetrical photography from cinematographer Alexander Dynum, will be tested. On that note, it’s also refreshing to watch a film that imbues substance into the style.
Nevertheless, their journey begins by tracking down a religious cult leader (Erika Alexander), a lawyer (Mykelti Williamson) who helped The Monster get off clean without any legal repercussions, and an entire new family with Janelle Monae’s New Wife, who also went on to have twins (this time dimwitted brothers), making for a comedy of errors and justifiable rage. With a bit of a slow burn, there is also more emphasis on offbeat, dark jokes in that first half, which especially works when aiming at religious institutions. The downside is that there are occasionally corny moments of dialogue (at one point the sisters profess that they are the hands of God), but this is a film that otherwise briskly moves through each location and situation finding those moments of humor, occasionally escalating into violent beats that further make up the dissolving of these sisters not only being on the same page but inside each other’s heads. By the third act, the telepathic communication is as gone as the sisters finishing each other’s sentences or speaking in unison.
With a fittingly intense conclusion as the cherry on top of some truly confident and imaginative direction, elevated by an outstanding spaghetti-western-inspired score from Joseph Shirley and Moses Sumney, alongside an ensemble each bringing distinct personality to their characters, Is God Is is good. It’s bloodshed and humor benefit from an insightful story about both sisterhood and finding a voice as an othered individual.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder
