Take 70: Is God Is

Is God Is is a dark comedic, dramatic, revenge film about twin sisters Racine (Kara Young) and Anaia (Mallori Johnson) who are tasked on the deathbed of their estranged mother, Ruby (Vivica A. Fox) to seek out and kill their father, simply referred to as “Man” (Sterling K. Brown), an abusive man responsible the literal scars that a have plagued them all their lives. This quest for vengeance takes them on a unique journey through The South where they encounter others whose lives have all been affected by Man for the worst. If and when they finally do encounter Man, will they be able to go as low as him to complete their mission? And if so, at what cost?

This marks the debut of Alesha Harris as director and screenwriter. Girl’s got some chops. There is sooooo much good here. First off, it’s BLACKETY BLACK BLACK. There are a lot of fresh, innovative ideas that I don’t think I have seen handled this manner The twins have a telepathy that’s displayed by quick, quippy back and forth, so quick you could miss them because they are so fast. Though not a new technique, the use of black and white for flashbacks is an especially nice touch. Dare I say it, the tone in some parts reminded me of a young Tarantino. She was definitely playing with large concepts such as generational trauma, Black Womanhood’s, and toxic masculinity (again, the antagonist is referred to as just Man.) I suspect we will be hearing a lot from this lady.

The cast is beyond impressive. I was not familiar with Kara Young or Mallori Johnson before this but they carried the film. The two played off each other really well. Although they didn’t look very much alike, I bought them as fraternal twins. The physically smaller Young played the tougher protector, the one more likely to pop-off and it works. Having suffered the more severe burns, Johnson’s Anaia was sheepish and supposed to be grotesque, but somehow she still comes across as Istrangely beautiful. Sure this in large part due to the make-up, but she still managed to have a radiance.

Filling out the cast are some heavy hitters. Erika Alexander appears as Divine, a hellfire spewing minister in a really funny sequence early into the twins’ journey (You ain’t @#!+, devil!) Mykelti Williamson takes a turn as Chuck Hall, the attorney who defended Man in court years ago. Fun, but a little less so. By the time we get to Janelle Monae as Angie, the tone had gotten pretty darn dark. Unfortunately, as good as they all are, their appearances are more like cameos and you definitely feel like there could and maybe should be more of each them.

As I said earlier, there are some heavier themes throughout. Either I missed it or it just wasn’t really addressed, but upon reunited with their mother, the girls just start referring to their matriarch as God. And she is a vengeful onee for sure. “Make your daddy dead dead dead. And everything around him. You can destroy that too.” It was such an out there premise, I asked myself, what if this was a reversal. Maybe she was in fact the devil trying to corrupt the girls. This may or may not have been way off the mark, but this movie definitely makes you think.

They film is definitely dark from jump, but at least early on, Harris frontloads some humor at the beginning which lulls us into a false sense of security. The violence and suffering arw absolutely there, but she does an excellent job keeping the worst of it off camera, until it isn't. There are laughs, but as we getting further into the story, these are fewer and far between. By the second have, it’s pretty brutal and some parts are a little hard to get through, so much so, for me, as good as it was, doesn't have much re-watch potential. Had she been able to maintain thst dark humor throughout, it would have been higher.

My score: 7.8. For a first film, Harris shows a lot of potential. She's about something and has a lot to say and a unique take. Just needs a little fine tuning. And when you have Vivica Fox Erika Alexander, and Janelle Monae at your disposal, don’t just TEMPT us with a good time, deliver! Kinda makes me wonder what might have been cut. Why were the girls so quick to accept their mother as God? And what does the title mean? To her credit, Harris has me curious so curious to see what's next.

Is You Is or Is You Ain’t a fan of this movie. Let us know in the comments. And until next time…