This Year’s Most Thrilling Revenge Tale Blends Greek Tragedy with ‘Kill Bill’

(SeaPRwire) –   In certain respects, it’s simple to figure out that Aleasha Harris adapted one of her plays for her first time behind the camera. If a movie were a vine and its dialogue the fruit, Is God Is would be laden with rich, vivid language and concise, memorable themes. On the other hand, it’s not so obvious: Is God Is scarcely feels like the work of a novice director, mainly because Harris handles every moment with remarkable poise and self-assurance. You can spot echoes of Tarantino’s Kill Bill in her stylistic touches, as well as the righteous, long-simmering rage of her lead characters. The framework of Greek tragedy is also revived here—but the fact that these elements support a cast of rightfully furious Black women transforms a basic revenge narrative into the year’s most unexpected thriller.

If there’s one thing that stands out, it’s that we’ve never seen anything quite like Is God Is before. This becomes clear the moment we meet Harris’ main characters: the fiery Racine (Kara Young) and her timid twin sister Anaia (Mallori Johnson). Both were disfigured as children in a fire set by their abusive father (a nearly unrecognizable Sterling K. Brown), and they believed their mother (Vivica A. Fox)—whom they call God—perished in the same blaze. “She created us, didn’t she?” Racine asks. Since the fire left her face unharmed, the world has labeled her the “Pretty One” of the pair, a status she uses to her advantage with a sharp tongue that matches her fierce attitude.

Racine is also the tough, assertive one, shielding Anaia—whose shyness comes from both her kind heart and the scars on her face—from any potential harm. That includes a letter from their mother, the first communication they’ve had with her in over 20 years. God somehow survived their father’s unspeakable act of violence but has lived in constant agony ever since; her burned body is a never-ending inferno. As she nears death from her injuries, she calls her daughters to her to pass on her final wish: “Make your daddy dead. Really dead.”

Their mission carries the epic gravity and sense of fate of an Arthurian tale; while Anaia is reluctant to hurt anyone—even the man who maimed her family—Racine dives into the challenge with enough enthusiasm for both of them. Is God Is quickly takes on the structure of a road trip movie, and Harris finds well-timed moments of lightness during the twins’ journey. The girls dance twerk-style in front of state signs from Tennessee to Virginia, blaring loud music from their old car. It’s the closest they’ll ever get to a carefree girlhood, and it’s contagious all the same. You almost forget they’re planning how to take a life—until Harris overlays text from the play above their heads, a clever nod to “twin telepathy” and one of the many brilliant ways the story transitions from stage to screen. Another standout is a striking black-and-white sequence where God recounts the fire, creating a cinematic highlight that lingers in the mind like a searing afterimage.

Finding their father isn’t an easy task for Racine and Anaia, but what starts as a fruitless search for them is engaging for the audience. As the twins follow every lead, Is God Is takes every chance to build up the terrifying legend around their target. Harris films Brown in fragments, like pieces of a foggy memory—keeping the camera behind him, or zooming in on specific features (such as his wide grin) instead of his full face. This gives a fresh take on the actor, likely drawn from the characters’ memories. Instead, the stories told by his other ex-wives—like Erika Alexander’s standout performance as a woman who’s turned her home into a shrine to the man her daughters call The Monster—paint a new picture of him.

Brown’s unseen villain has left a path of children and violence wherever he’s gone. Racine and Anaia meet a younger half-brother (Josaiah Cross), who’s fully bought into The Monster’s ideology, along with a lawyer (Mykelti Williamson) who defended him against arson and attempted murder charges and lost his tongue shortly after—“for fear it would talk.” Every new detail fits seamlessly into Harris’ stylized world, but even the touches of magical realism don’t soften the shocking violence the heroines face. This is intentional: it makes total sense when Racine gives in to the violent impulses she usually (if half-heartedly) keeps in check.

Even with Anaia’s horror, it’s oddly satisfying to see a Black woman fight back against the forces that want to destroy her. Racine speaks for many when she coolly says she wants to be the one stepping on others for once, instead of being stepped on. Is God Is takes a bold stand against all the obvious, subtle, and insidious ways Black women are devalued and discarded. It works both as a metaphor and—at a time when femicide cases are rising too quickly—a sobering dose of reality. But Harris doesn’t stop at one portrayal of Black womanhood: Is God Is also asks if a victim can go too far in their pursuit of revenge. Racine is willing to take out anyone who stands between her sister and their target, even those who are technically innocent, like The Monster’s third wife (a jittery Janelle Monáe). How much of her violence is justified? How can the cycle be broken if “an eye for an eye” is the guiding principle?

Harris’ writing seems simple at first glance, but the deeper it goes, the more complex the story becomes. Any questions it raises are welcome, though, largely because Young—delivering a masterful performance of unbridled anger—and Johnson make it impossible to look away. Their focused acting carries the story from strength to strength, and their dedication compensates for the few minor flaws in the script. If Is God Is has one weakness, it’s that it rushes to reach its conclusion. Like Racine, its single-minded focus could be its downfall—but Anaia’s empathetic presence balances this out, ensuring that this powerful message won’t fade anytime soon.

Is God Is hits theaters on May 15.