Review: Is God Is

 

Official Synopsis:  Two sisters Racine and Anaia (Kara Young and Mallori Johnson) embark on an epic quest for revenge; confronting a charged family history that will push them to extraordinary lengths.

Is God Is sold me immediately on the trailer alone. At the time, I had no idea this was writer/director Alesha Harris' debut work. And even after watching it, it's hard to believe this was someone's first time behind the camera. Harris has such a clear vision for what she wants here. A southern gothic revenge story that feels like you're watching poetry in motion. There times when the twins are talking to each other with looks only, and the accompanying subtitle comes up on screen. I thought she used that very effectively (and at times hilariously)

There's a decent amount of dark humor in this story, which is much needed considering it follows two women looking for one of the worst on-screen fathers I've ever seen in my life. You know all along Racine and Anaia are making "bad" choices, but considering the the person their going after...you find it hard to judge them for it. 

Young and Johnson do an amazing job as our leads. They take us on a journey of emotions and I hope they both have long careers to come, because I can't wait to see what they do next. Is God Is also has one of the best makeup jobs I've seen all year. I really hope they aren't ignored by the Academy for it, but you know they likely will be with how small this films is. 

This one is definitely worth your theater money. Even though some aspects of it disappointed me, I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. 

Grade: A-