‘God’s Time’ (2023) Review: Finding Humour in Dark Places
Daniel Antebi’s God’s Time is a dark comedy that offers a fresh perspective on recovery and addiction. It follows two addicts on a mission to stop their mutual crush from murdering their ex-boyfriend. The movie uses fourth-wall-breaking and fast-paced storytelling mixed with humour. It’s an interesting set of ideas that meshes well with lighthearted comedy.
Dev (Ben Groh) and Luca (Dion Costelloe) are best friends, aspiring actors and recovering from addiction in a 12-step program. Their mutual crush, Regina (Liz Caribel Sierra), is a recovering addict and attends meetings to talk about her ex-boyfriend, who evicted her from her apartment and stole her dog. At the end of her session, she always adds, “In God’s time,” which is her way of saying that karma will eventually get back at her ex-boyfriend. One day, Regina mentions that she is getting a gun and leaves out the three-word phrase, and Dev and Luca become worried. Dev is convinced that Regina plans to kill her ex-boyfriend and get her dog back, while Luca is focused on nailing his callback audition. Eventually, they take it upon themselves to find Regina and help her before she relapses — not nearly concerned for the life that might end if their crush is not found!
God’s Time has been compared to the Safdie Brothers’ style of direction, past-faced and outrageous conflicts that go out of control. Antebi approaches his movie using fourth-wall breaking and uses his characters to engage with the audience to express himself in these situations. Dev talks directly to the camera during recovery meetings, introduces Luca and Regina, and at one point, shoves the camera away during an argument. It’s the creative decisions that make God’s Time unique. From the start, Antebi knows how to set the tone. The movie’s self-awareness of its surroundings is clear, and there is desperation in the character’s journeys to fulfil their misguided missions.
Groh, Costelloe and Sierra are marvellous on-screen together, and all of them are newcomers. Groh, who makes his feature debut in God’s Time, delivers a great performance with his friend, Costelloe. Their chemistry is impeccable, with perfect comedic timing and energy that makes them a likeable duo. Sierra makes her overall acting debut and plays the damsel in distress whose perspective is taken over by two recovery addicts. It’s impossible to look away when she is on screen because of her character’s mysterious background.
God’s Time is a promising directorial debut by Antebi, and it has one of the best performances by upcoming actors. Antebi provides a fresh perspective on recovery by finding humour in strange, dark places. He allows the audience to look at recovery and addiction through a different lens and lets the audience understand the outrageousness of the mission. In the end, Dev, Luca and Regina figure out how to solve their problems by examining their inner conflicts. It creates a humbling ending for all of them.
