God's Country (2022 film)

God's Country
God's Country
	Release poster
Directed by	Julian Higgins
Screenplay by	Julian Higgins; Shaye Ogbonna;
Based on	"Winter Light"; by James Lee Burke
Produced by	Julian Higgins; Miranda Bailey; Halee Bernard; Amanda Marshall;
Starring	Thandiwe Newton; Jeremy Bobb; Joris Jarsky; Jefferson White; Kai Lennox; Tanaya Beatty;
Cinematography	Andrew Wheeler
Edited by	Justin LaForge
Music by	DeAndre James Allen-Toole
Production; companies	Cold Iron Pictures; The Film Arcade;
Distributed by	IFC Films
Release dates	January 23, 2022 (Sundance); September 16, 2022 (United States);
Running time	102 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$493,679

God's Country is a 2022 American thriller film co-written and directed by Julian Higgins,^[4]^[5] based on the short story "Winter Light" by James Lee Burke.^[6] The film stars Thandiwe Newton, Jeremy Bobb, Joris Jarsky, Jefferson White, Kai Lennox, and Tanaya Beatty. It had its world premiere in the Premieres section of the 38th Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2022, and was released theatrically in United States on September 16, 2022.

Synopsis

While a police officer in New Orleans, the events of Hurricane Katrina convince Sandra to move with her mother to a remote and cold region of Montana, where she becomes a university professor. Once her mother dies, Sandra is left alone between the power dynamics of her college and the town. But it is a confrontation with two hunters trespassing on her property that ultimately pushes her own pain and growing anger to their limits. Limits where individual freedom and legal recourse meet American justice.

Cast

Thandiwe Newton as Sandra
Jeremy Bobb as Wolf
Joris Jarsky as Nathan
Kai Lennox as Arthur
Jefferson White as Samuel
Tanaya Beatty as Gretchen
Dan Gravage as the funeral director

Release

The film had its world premiere in the Premieres section of the 38th Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2022, at the Eccles Center in Park City, Utah.^[1] It was released theatrically in the United States by IFC Films on September 16, 2022,^[2]^[3]^[7] and on VOD by IFC Video on October 4, 2022.^[3]^[7]

Reception

Box office

God's Country grossed $493,679 in the United States.^[2]^[3]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 88% of 82 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "Led by an outstanding Thandiwe Newton, God's Country rewards patient viewers with a slow-burning but ultimately explosive story of inexorable conflict."^[7] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 77 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.^[8]

Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com said, "It's a film that understands both form and content, merging the two in a story that feels less like a piece of suspenseful entertainment and more like a warning."^[9] Dennis Harvey of Variety said, "God's Country (the title of which hints at another running theme of faith and doubt) is admirable for avoiding caricature within conflict, and granting dramatic personae the depth to hesitate before giving in to their angriest first impulses."^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b "Printable program guide" (PDF). CloudFront.net. January 20, 2022. p. 28. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c "God's Country (2022)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "God's Country (2022) – Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
^ Smart, Jack (September 13, 2022). "God's Country is an unsettling place for Thandiwe Newton". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
^ Kraft, Tim (September 12, 2022). "Exclusive: Julian Higgin's on God's Country and Thandiwe Newton". MovieWeb.
^ ^a ^b Harvey, Dennis (January 23, 2022). "'God's Country' Review: Thandiwe Newton Anchors a Thriller of Escalating Disputes in Big Sky Country". Variety. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c "God's Country". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
^ "God's Country". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
^ Tallerico, Brian (January 27, 2022). "Sundance 2022: God's Country, Emily the Criminal, Resurrection". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved September 14, 2022.

External links

[premiere-1] "Printable program guide" (PDF). CloudFront.net. January 20, 2022. p. 28. Retrieved May 22, 2023.

[BOM-2] "God's Country (2022)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 21, 2022.

[NUM-3] "God's Country (2022) – Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved October 21, 2022.

[4] Smart, Jack (September 13, 2022). "God's Country is an unsettling place for Thandiwe Newton". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 22, 2023.

[5] Kraft, Tim (September 12, 2022). "Exclusive: Julian Higgin's on God's Country and Thandiwe Newton". MovieWeb.

[variety-6] Harvey, Dennis (January 23, 2022). "'God's Country' Review: Thandiwe Newton Anchors a Thriller of Escalating Disputes in Big Sky Country". Variety. Retrieved September 14, 2022.

[Rotten_Tomatoes-7] "God's Country". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 27, 2022.

[Metacritic-8] "God's Country". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved May 22, 2023.

[9] Tallerico, Brian (January 27, 2022). "Sundance 2022: God's Country, Emily the Criminal, Resurrection". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved September 14, 2022.

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