Sterling K. Brownには、その名を冠する数多の素晴らしい役柄がある（エミー賞をいくつか、そしてアカデミー賞ノミネーションも含む）が、しかし私たちは彼をこれまでの演じ方とはまったく違う姿で見たことがないようだ。Is God Isは、2026年の映画カレンダーに5月15日に初公開される作品で、アレシア・ハリスのオフ・ブロードウェイの舞台劇を原作とする映画化作品だ。ハリス自身が脚本を執筆し、監督も務める。ロードトリップ・スリラーの批評が届き、批評家は演技とハリスのメッセージを絶賛している。
The monster in this movie may be portrayed by Sterling K. Brown, but Is God Is is an ensemble film led by two-time Tony Award winner Kara Young and Mallori Johnson. They play twins who are scarred from a fire set by their father (Brown) in an attempt to kill their mother (Vivica A. Fox) when they were young, and the movie shows their efforts to track him down after their mother asks them to kill him.
この映画に登場する化け物はSterling K. Brownが演じている可能性はあるものの、Is God Isは二度のトニー賞受賞者カラ・ヤングとMallori Johnsonが主演するオールキャストの作品だ。彼女たちは、幼い頃に父親（Brown）によって自分たちの母親を殺そうとした際に火傷を負った双子である。母親が彼女たちに父を殺すように求めた後、彼らが父を追い詰めようとする様子が映画には描かれている。
THRのJourdain SearlesはIs God Isの評で演技を称賛する一方、映像表現は平凡だと指摘している。演技は生き生きとしていると批評家は言うが、南部は人が少なく描かれ、この物語には過度に整いすぎて静かすぎると見えるとSearlesは書く。Searlesがこう綴る:
Racine and Anaia are more than just sisters in this narrative — they represent all the justifiably angry Black girls who deserved more than the world gave them. Harris adapted Is God Is from her play of the same name, and the theatrical spirit lives on in the film through the rhythm and repetition of the dialogue. The central performances are strong, with Brown perfectly embodying a sinister, otherworldly image of masculinity run amok.
Alison Foreman of IndieWire gives it an A-, writing that Aleshea Harris perfectly distracts from the characters’ unbearable suffering with dream-like visuals, dark humor and a great soundtrack, ultimately delivering catharsis in its “electric conclusion” that can only come from a hideous tale told with confidence. Foreman says:
For all its fire and fury, Racine’s anger can be exhausting to behold, but her creator never permits audiences to forget what’s behind that rage. If a woman being burned alive in her own bathtub isn’t enough cause for revenge, what possibly could be? And yet, Is God Is leaves room for the possibility that Anaia’s instinct to forgive may still be the stronger act. Harris refuses easy answers, and announces herself as a singular cinematic force in the hell her story brings just the same.
AP通信のジョスリン・ノヴェックはIs God Isを4つ星中3つと評し、これほどまでにこのような姿のスターリング・K・ブラウンを見たことがないと述べる。映画は怒りについて語ることが多く、それはラシーンとアナイアの母を生きながら焼こうとしたモンスターだけに限られていない。ノヴェックの言葉で：
Here is where Harris’ message seems to emerge at its loudest and clearest: Rage is not an arena open exclusively to men. It’s not something that becomes explicable only for those who possess the Y chromosome. Yet women, and especially Black women, often have to apologize for their anger, Harris says. The playwright offers no apologies for her twins on their life-altering, rage-filled journey.
Kristy Puchko of Mashable says Aleshea Harris “delivers filmmaking that is so mythic, mesmerizing, and menacing that it’s easily one of the best movies of 2026.” Is God Is is a Southern-fried road trip movie that takes inspiration from Greek mythology, Black culture and Quentin Tarantino. And Sterling K. Brown’s wickedness is “goose-bump inducing.” Puchko continues:
By the time he’s revealed in full, the twins and we, their audience, know full well what hell he can wreak. So, he doesn’t need to bellow or snarl. Instead, he’ll make a sandwich and speak in a soft voice. And this choice makes the climax even more harrowing. Harris has built an epic road movie about family, trauma, love, and abuse. She’s sculpted characters complicated and compelling, peopling a world of wonder and terror. And in this final act, I held my breath, wondering what would become of these twins.
AVクラブのモニカ・カスティーリョはこの映画をB評価とし、ハリスがこの物語を用いて父権制による家庭内暴力に怒りを籠めていると指摘する。しかし、この種の虐待は今なお女性が直面する問題であるにもかかわらず、ハリスはIs God Isに美しさと優しさを注入する方法を見つけている。カスティーリョはこう書く：
Harris’ adaptation is a strong feature debut, losing none of its potency while making use of her new medium. She keeps the lyrical narration and dialogue intact with an eye towards playing with visual effects and production design to break Racine and Anaia out of the confines of a stage and out onto the South’s never-ending highways, their mother’s throne-like deathbed, and their father’s isolated McMansion. Sometimes, the connective scenes between meeting the people who absolved their father feel like filler compared to the highly charged moments of confrontation. The latter are so powerful, they keep the film’s momentum racing despite any lags and bathroom breaks (and there are so many bathroom breaks).
この舞台から映像への適応が非常に複雑で恐ろしいものに聞こえる一方で、批評は圧倒的に好評を博しており、アレシア・ハリスの長編デビュー作をRotten Tomatoesで98%の高評価として称賛している。もし双子の復讐物語の結末を知りたいなら—そして彼らが道中で何を学んだのか—Is God Isは5月15日金曜日に劇場公開される。
