The Year's Most Exciting Revenge Thriller Remixes Greek Tragedy And 'Kill Bill'

"If a film could be a vine and the dialogue the fruit, would hang heavy with delicious diction and succinct, unforgettable themes. In other ways, it's harder to tell: Is God Is hardly feels like the work of a first-time director, if only because Harris approaches every beat with an astonishing confidence and coolness. One could see Tarantino's Kill Bill in her stylistic flourishes, the righteous, long-festering fury in her heroines. The bones of Greek tragedy are resurrected here, too - but the fact that they're here to serve an ensemble of justifiably angry Black women turns a straightforward revenge story into the most surprising thriller of the year."

"That's clear from the moment we meet Harris' protagonists, the spitfire Racine (Kara Young) and her shy twin sister Anaia (Mallori Johnson). Each has grown up disfigured by a fire set by their abusive father (an unrecognizable Sterling K. Brown), believing that same fire claimed the life of their mother (Vivica A. Fox), whom they call God. "She made us, didn't she?" Racine asks. As the fire spared her face, the world has categorized her "The Pretty One" of the pair, a privilege she weaponizes with a bite as bad as her bark."

"Racine is also the Mean One, the Strong One, protecting Anaia - whose reserve stems from her big heart as much as it does the scars marring her face - from anything that might harm her. That includes a letter from their mother, the first contact they've had with her in 20-odd years. God somehow survived their father's unspeakable expression of violence, but has lived in constant pain ever since, her charred body its own perpetual inferno. She's about to succumb to her injuries, but before she does, she summons her daughters to bequeath her dying wish: "Make your daddy dead. Real dead"

Racine and her shy twin sister Anaia grew up disfigured by a fire set by their abusive father, who they believe also killed their mother, whom they call God. Racine is labeled “The Pretty One” because the fire spared her face, and she uses that privilege with sharp, memorable intensity while protecting Anaia from harm. Anaia’s restraint reflects both her big heart and the scars that mark her. After more than twenty years, a letter from their mother arrives, revealing that God survived and has lived in constant pain since the fire. God summons her daughters to pass on a dying wish: to make their father dead, real dead.

Read at Inverse