God's Country

The entire 102 runtime needed to be chopped to a short film to keep this story engaging. At least 80% of this film was unnecessary, convoluted nonsense and filler that should've ended up on the cutting room floor. Don't even get me started on the ridiculously slow pacing and long dragged out and unnecessary scenes.

Too many points tried to be made, but none really succeeded - and in the hands of any decent filmmaker, it wouldn't have felt like such a chore to even attempt to make said points. Many scenes and dialogue were just nonsense and unrealistic, and just came and left out of nowhere. It was just sloppy sloth writing and directing that felt like none of it was edited, and random bits from other screenplays was mixed in the blender. And even then, it was all too predictable and cliched.

The worst part is, you'll invest all this time trying to stay engaged, but will be very let down with the lamest, simplistic and most cliched predictable ending. You'll cringe when asking yourself "that's it?". This type of story has been done many times before, and much better than this mess of style and filler over any real substance. The only redeeming qualities this film had was Newton's performance and great cinematography with breathtaking scenery. Just watch the trailer and the last 2 mins of the movie - there's your entire story.

This movie is labeled as a thriller, let's not kid ourselves here it is most definately a drama and a slow one at that. The subject matter really is just a very small part of the movie and in reality this movie just becomes a slow drone about her feelings and her previous struggles and life. This may be some people's cup of tea but it cant be too many. I do not understand why people make movies this slow and think it is entertainment, the movie really does not know what direction it is heading in and quite frankly could be about 1 hour 30 minutes shorter, every scene drags on with nothing happening, it really was a bore. I will say it gets 3/10 because there is no cheese in it or plugged humour nor any far fetched plot or story so in that sense it feels real, real-ly boring... My advice avoid if you want any entertainment or interest.

College professor Sandra (Thandiwe Newton) lives alone in the middle of nowhere Montana after losing her mother. Two local hunters keep trespassing on her property. The confrontations slowly build. She's struggling with an unevolved superior at work. The acting sheriff is limited help. The actual sheriff is on leave after shooting a local.

This movie is quiet. In a way, it's too quiet. Newton is doing good quiet with simmering rage. The tree farm confrontation is good tension. So is the invitation into the trailer home. There are moments and scenes with great tension. Mostly, the movie is way too quiet and the tension slips. It needs to build the tension, but Sandra doesn't change. It's a little flat.

God's Country is disqualified from being considered "bad" by its performances and cinematography alone. The film is largely breathtaking to behold, even when it at times becomes dull from a storytelling standpoint.

And this is where the film falters: its storytelling.

The "plot" technically has an inciting incident, but is really just a meandering series of events that make up a 90-minute petty neighborhood feud between a grieving Karen and a group of spited pseudo-alpha-males.

Given what we come to know about Cassandra's character background, some of the plot's events do hit pretty hard emotionally, especially the film's final 5 minutes and it's EXCELLENT final one-take scene.

But the brilliant conclusion does feel like a bit too little too late, as a great chunk of the story feels largely inconsequential to the film's larger themes that it's going for.

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"God's Country features a remarkable lead performance from Thandiwe Newton, but the unfocused, predictable screenplay makes this film too dull to remember. Technically, it's one of the strongest movies of the festival. Gorgeous cinematography, sweet score, gripping atmosphere -- it holds the essential technical ingredients for a great film.

However, by attempting to tackle many different subject matters, Julian Higgins isn't able to properly concentrate and exceptionally develop a single one. In addition to this, the protagonist carries relatable motivations, but her consequent actions feel contradictory. The racism and sexism that she has to deal with are real, but her way of confronting these situations is far from exemplary.

Finally, the impactful ending beautifully works in theory, but since everything plot-wise is so unsurprising and slow-paced, the viewers will probably feel too tired to care by the end."

Rating: C.