“Is God Is” is a trip — both literally and figuratively. With her film directorial debut, adapted from her play of the same name, Aleshea Harris takes audiences on a ride they won’t soon forget. The twists she threads through this bloody thriller keep viewers on edge.
The biggest names attached are St. Louis’ own Sterling K. Brown and Mykelti Williamson — who also has local roots — along with Vivica A. Fox, Janelle Monáe and Erika Alexander.
Twins Anaia and Racine are scraping by, making the most of lives shaped by a childhood trauma that left them severely scarred — and Racine with a rage that burns hotter than the flames that nearly consumed them. They’ve been charged with ending the life of the person responsible for their injuries. But they must find him first.
Anaia hesitates, but Racine is ready to ride. And what a ride it is. For her first film, Harris marries elements of stage and screen. She leans into a theater-style linear timeline, keeping viewers in real time with the twins as they push through their mission over what feels like a few days. “Is God Is” also demands imagination — asking audiences to draw conclusions and use deductive reasoning at pivotal moments that would typically unfold on screen. But she takes advantage of the medium by letting the film breathe with beats that reveal striking visual undertones and imagery.
Harris also flips the script by placing emerging actors at the center while the veterans provide small but consequential support.
Though limited to one or two scenes each, the veterans command every frame. They’re familiar faces in the canon of Black film, but Harris positions them so their acting chops are as recognizable as their names.
Alexander’s turn as The Divine Healer stands out — a reminder of how underutilized she’s been since her “Living Single” days. With “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul” as the rare exception, Brown deviates from his typical position as ethical compass. He swings to the opposite end of the moral spectrum as The Monster. His emotional agility makes the character even more terrifying.
But it’s the newcomers who carry the heart of “Is God Is.” And they handle it with care.
Five years after her Broadway debut, Tony Award-winner Kara Young makes a compelling case as a film star with her magnetic performance as Racine. Mallori Johnson is equally strong in her major film debut as Anaia — a timid, emotional woman forced to confront her trauma daily through the scars that cover her face. Though Anaia bears the visible wounds, Racine carries the emotional ones, simmering just beneath the surface of every interaction. Keeping her peace — and protecting her sister — is a moment-to-moment battle.
The chemistry between Mallori Johnson and Kara Young is stunning. They move like two halves of the same wound. But that intimacy has limits, and the film makes that clear. For all the tenderness Anaia holds for her sister, she doesn’t have the capacity — or the power — to quell Racine’s bloodlust. Young plays Racine with a fire that can’t be soothed, not even by the person who knows her best. And Johnson’s quiet ache reinforces that truth. Their performances are a demonstration of how love can bind two people tightly while still leaving one of them beyond reach.
The film is an interesting watch thanks to the performances, but the payoff isn’t fully there. Harris stays true to her dramatic roots, leaving elements that would typically play out on screen to the viewer’s imagination. She also leaves scenes on the table that could have sharpened the pace and amplified the action — particularly a face-off between The Monster and Chuck Hall, which is teased but never materializes.
“Is God Is” opens in theaters nationwide on Friday, May 15. The film is rated R with a running time of 100 minutes.