"God's Time" -- Movie Review

 

On the opening weekend of the Tribeca Festival, I attended the World Premiere of the comedy “God’s Time”. 

Synopsis

When a pair of friends realize a mutual acquaintance might be planning something dangerous, will they be able to thwart her and maintain their bromance?

Story

Dev and Luca are best friends.  One of the things they have in common is the fact that they are both recovering drug addicts.  Together, they attend therapy meetings for fellow former drug abusers currently in recovery.  During one of the sessions, they hear a remarkable admission from Regina, one of the members.  Having broken up with her live-in boyfriend, she was forced to find a new apartment – and to add insult to injury, not only did he take her old apartment, he took her dog, as well.  Now, Regina wants revenge – she opens up during one meeting confessing that she has fantasized about shooting him. 

Understandably, both Dev and Luca are alarmed by hearing this.  Neither one of them want Regina to follow through on her insidious plan – mostly because they are both in love with her and don’t want to see her wind up in prison for murder.  So, for their own very selfish reasons, the two men set out to try to either talk Regina out of killing her ex-boyfriend or to find a way to somehow sabotage her plans.  Meanwhile, both men are trying to live out their own best life, too.  Luca is pursuing a career as an actor and seeks to schedule as many auditions as he possibly can.  Dev, on the other hand, is simply trying to avoid some stranger with whom he got into a traffic altercation. 

Eventually, Dev and Luca learn that Regina does in fact have access to a gun.  They plot to break into her apartment to take the gun away from her – but when Regina mistakes the two for burglars, she accidentally shoots Luca in the arm.  They rush Luca to the hospital for treatment – but once he is discharged, they discover that Regina’s ex-boyfriend is confronting her in the parking lot.  Although Dev and Luca try to play the role of peacemakers, anger and resentment take over when it becomes clear that the men are competing for the affections of Regina.  Can they somehow manage to overcome their differences and keep Regina from shooting her ex-boyfriend?  In the aftermath, will their friendship survive?

Review

“God’s Time” is a 2022 comedy which should not be confused with the 2015 motion picture “In God’s Time”, which is a drama, despite the fact that both derive their title from the same phrase.  The distinction in genre raises an interesting point about the film that appeared at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival because it’s a bit of a mistake to identify this as a comedy (or comedy-drama) in any notion.  Perhaps it takes its identity as a comedy from the fact that the character of Dev is written and performed in such an over-the-top manner that it might give the impression of a comedy.  In fact, it is not; it is mostly a serious drama and not all that funny, either. 

The movie seems rather schizophrenic because of this; on the one hand, the writer/director Daniel Antebi appears to want to make a film featuring a crazy character like Dev at its center, yet also wanted to tell a serious story about desperate, down-on-their luck characters.  The lighter moments that Dev attempts seem tone-deaf for the rest of the motion picture; there are two different stories here in search of a genre and when blended together, the film as a whole doesn’t work.  If “God’s Time” had focused solely on being a drama, it might have found more success.  As it is, it feels like a fable about drug addicts seen through the eyes of an addict. 

A positive note about this film is the cast; the performances are quite good and the characters give the appearance of a real chemistry.  Particularly good is newcomer Liz Caribel Sierra in the role of Regina; all at once she conveys toughness, sensitivity and sensuality to fully develop her character and make Regina feel quite authentic.  As stated, the character of Dev, as portrayed by Ben Groh, is very animated, giving one the sense that this guy is totally coked-up most of the time.  Dion Costelloe as Luca is a stark contrast to his best friend; understated, he emits an earnest nature – someone dedicated to improving his life.