An Interview With God had a limited release this week. The film was released for two day at the AMC Theaters near my house. This faith-based movie seemed polished enough for wider release. I am not sure if it will see wider release in theaters, but it should. It was a well-constructed movie that had better cinematic quality than many of the faith films that have seen a wider release. I have good things to say about this interesting film.
Paul Asher (Brenton Thwaites) is a journalist who has recently returned from Iraq. He has come through the war fine, but his marriage seems to be failing. It doesn't seem that war hurt his marriage as much as infidelity. Asher is struggling, even as he puts forth the stoic impression that he has his life together. His wife Sarah (Yael Groblas) leaves him as he struggles to come to terms with his life. His life is complicated when he is assigned a series of interviews with God (David Straitharn). Paul meets a man over three days, for thirty minutes per session. What begins as an intriguing human-interest story turns inward as Paul is forced to face his own inner turmoil.
An Interview With God takes an interesting approach to this subject matter. It begins by constructing characters that we can relate to. The story doesn't have action-pacing, but it doesn't plod, either. It has a steady pace with a gentle arc that brings us to a couple of interesting twists. The plot is augmented with sharp dialogue that is intelligent. I was pleasantly surprised that the film had the quality it did. This is writer Ken Aguado's first feature length screenplay. I hope he does more. He has a gentle hand, rendering characters that matter within a story that captivates. The fresh dialogue was a bonus. It was smart and credible.
The casting for this film was interesting. The film centers on Strathairn and Thwaites, the only two actors I recognized. Strathairn is not an A-lister, but he has had a long career with steady work. I only recognize Thwaites from one film, The Giver which was decent, but not exceptional. Both actors did an exceptional job with these characters. I was intrigued by the dialogue, which they delivered like veterans. Strathairn was an interesting choice to play a man who claims to be God. His steady delivery and strong eye contact gave the character a subtle strength. In fact, subtlety is a facet of this film that makes it work. There is subtlety beyond just the performances. It can be found in the details and symbolism scattered throughout the film. Thwaites was surprisingly strong. For an actor with a brief resume, his performance lent credibility to the story. Particularly to the twists.
An Interview With God is unrated. It would probably earn a PG rating from the MPAA if I were to guess. The film doesn't have strong language, sex, adult content, nudity or drugs. It is a wholesome film. The subject matter does deal with sensitive topics like adultery and suicide, although neither topic is depicted or dealt with directly. The core of this film is about faith and salvation. It is a wholesome message geared directly for the believer. It handles the subject matter without wading into controversy, sticking with major themes of Christianity. There are many expressions of faith, but only one path. I would not restrict this film by age. The run time is relatively short at one hour, 33 minutes. The film also includes a Talking Dead like discussion at the end that lasted ten to fifteen minutes.
It seems that faith-based films are having a renaissance. The quality of these films have come a long way. While An Interview With God does not require the massive undertaking of a film like The Passion which was expensive to produce, it does manage to deliver high quality without the massive budget. It is not a period piece, requiring the extra budget to reproduce a historical era. The quality of this film lies in the characters, the subject matter, the treatment of the subject matter and the dialogue. It was intelligent. The film managed to squeak in a bit of plot twist just to keep things interesting. The film is wholesome with a positive message. We can all certainly use more of that. Well done. 8/10.
There is more information about this film and about faith in general at www.aninterviewwithgod.com
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