An Interview with God

People are going around saying that Morgan Freeman should have played God here, but David Strathairn does a pretty good job. I was impressed by the acting from both of the two leads. Brenton Thwaites clears his name a little performance wise and shows that he's capable of more than what he's been offered in the past. It's a straightforward setup, a guy is gonna interview a man who tells him that he's God. From there on it starts out interesting. There's clever dialogue thrown back and forth. And yes, my attention very clearly on every word said. But as soon as we move away from the interview aspect the story crumbles. It's never as interesting as those interview parts. I know there's effort there, but its approach to tell the mundane story didn't latch on to me.

Lookswise it's nothing that stands out. Simple framing and narrative. But honestly they didn't need to push the execution. The simplicity is good enough when watching two characters have interesting things to say. Speaking of that, the film definitely should have put more focus on the actual conversations. Because that's what held my attention. The stuff that happens in between went with the convoluted "we gotta have these curveballs of drama and mishy-mashy, sugar-coat, sweet turning points". Jeez, it's ok movie. The conversation of what a man and a God can have about life (and whatever else) is your great subject. Use it wisely. To be fair, the Journalists story that you follow isn't bad per say. I's uneventful compared to what this movie could have reached. The third act almost fell apart, which made it end on a very safe note.

So it's an OK little movie. The conversation scenes and performances were good. The rest is merely your usual soap opera. Last thing to say is that it's not that long and decently easy to watch.

This is a very philosophical movie and i believe anyone with philosophical and theological interests would like it. But the good parts are when the interview takes place, between them the movie becomes a little boring and personally I did not like the protagonist's acting. But the actor who plays God is amazing and his scenes well acted and well written.

Ken Aguado has written a clever script about spirituality, that emphasizes questions rather than answers, and includes some unexpected plot twists. The acting is uniformly good. David Strathairn provides a convincing performance as God. The music is haunting and sets the tone beautifully. One drawback about seeing this film in the theater was the jarring cut to an irreverent interviewer at the end, before the credits. I would have preferred some time (with a little music) to contemplate the movie themes, followed perhaps by some suggested discussion questions that groups could use as a starting point for sharing their reactions. Sorry, but the tacked on interview was really awful.

A Christian(?) film about salvation, love, repentance and forgiveness - although the route by which we are reconciled to God, Jesus, is only lightly touched. If you could talk to God, face to face, what questions would you ask? Think hard here, our protagonist asked some questions the were really complaints, and some questions to which he knew the answers, but refused to accept he did. Atheists and sceptics spin round in circles pointing to this and that as evidence that God does not exist. They never seem to look inwards and compare themselves to the standards they expect others to live up to. A world of perfect people would be perfect, and in this excellent movie God keeps turning our hero back round to examine his own life that he so bitterly complains about. Eventually Paul gets the message. He made the mess, and it's within his own power to fix his life.

There were moments of theological weakness, but I liked the God character. Patient, loving and generous. I thought it was right, we don't want easy answers or quick fixes from God, our free will and drive would be destroyed. The character Paul was at the lower end of spiritual maturity, at first. Proud, stubborn and determined to avoid responsibility, whatever the cost. Insisting God wave his magic wand. At the end of the movie he has grown considerably, grasping his life and transforming it, using the wisdom gained from his encounter with God.

Watch this movie, learn how love, repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation can transform your life, Christian or not.....

This isn't really a movie. It's a religious/philosophical treatise disguised as a movie. The plot is that a religious journalist has an interview with a person claiming to be god. The standard pattern of these things is that the interviewer, who is the stand-in for the audience, at first thinks he's talking to a crazy person but gradually comes to believe he is actually talking to god. The movie hopes the audience will come along for the ride and give the ideas presented the weight thereof.

The fundamental problem with anything like this is that it is so effing arrogant. I mean, could you be more self-indulgent and arrogant than to say you can define the personage and motives of the creator of the universe? Beyond that there is the secondary problem in that the movie is taking a stand of sorts on which religions are correct. If the movies espoused beliefs happen to align with your own you may not see a problem with that, but I don't care for that approach because it reduces god to a kind of supernatural parent confessing to the audience that he has a favorite child. It might feel great to hear "god" say you are his (her/its) favorite, but I have a problem with any idea that sounds like the central thesis of a religious war.

Anyway, I don't want to go into any more detail because this is a really touchy subject for so many people, but I'll just say instead that I don't think this is a very good film; it's preachy, judgmental, and not interactive. You have to sit there and listen to them regurgitate their belief system all over you, something better suited for a sermon at your house of worship then as entertainment.