By Angel Perez
An Interview with God is a smart and compelling indie drama. When a reporter arranges to interview a man, who claims to be God, the interview takes a strange turn that causes the reporter to do some soul searching and questioning of his faith.
David Stathairm gives an excellent performance as God and the script does a good job at addressing theological issues without going into the minutia of Church dogma.
Some of the acting is a bit stilted and the plot’s a little underdeveloped, but the heart of the film is the interviews, which are incredibly engaging and thought-provocative. “An Interview with God” challenges audiences to look beyond the surface and to question what faith truly is.
I am a Christian so I love faith based films. This one was different than most I’ve seen. It really tackled such issues as salvation and free will. It made me think and apply what I watched to my own beliefs and faith.
I like how the answers to the interviewer’s questions are never answered directly. God knows the interviewer has the answers and lets him figures a lot of these questions on his own. Very thought provoking and I enjoyed the movie.
What would you say to God if you could ask him anything? “An Interview with God” explores this question as war journalist Paul Asher (played by Brenton Thwaites) sits down over three days with a man who claims to be God (David Statherian).
Asher is at a low point in his life. His wife had an affair and left him and he is dealing with trauma from reporting in Afghanistan. His faith in God is being sorely tested.
Stathairm plays the God Christians might expect. He loves us, He wants what’s best for us, but He’s also not going to give us all of the answers.
As the viewing audience will intimately understand, Asher finds himself frustrated and confused when talking with God even though they are face to face!
One of the movie’s most emotional scenes is when God tells Asher he is “just about out of time.” Asher gets angry at being told he will die soon, but he says no when God asks if he would like to know the exact time and date.
When asked later why he told Asher about his pending death, God says that he thought a journalist would appreciate deadlines.
God’s best lesson to Asher comes just before God departs. He says, “I hear it all” when it comes to prayers of suffering and pain. He tells Asher people should “look to each other, and that’s where I’ll be.” He explains: “Sometimes, the miracle is you.”
At the end of the movie, Asher says that he was praying to God, but not listening. This lesson comes out of left field. So, does his sudden appreciation for life after his third interview with God.
Dramatically and inexplicably, Asher forgives his wife’s transgressions, steps away from suicide, and is no longer troubled by his war experience even though these deeply spiritual and psychological challenges are little-addressed.
The viewer is left to assume that he will likewise magically transform himself from the self-absorbed man whose drive for work and theology drove his wife away to a selfless husband.
But even if this miracle takes place, the viewer has no idea how it will happen. It doesn’t ask the viewer to consider what we would do if we met God face-to-face here on Earth.
It doesn’t challenge us to care more for our spouses, or to consider how difficult war is for those in it. Even contrary to its marketing materials, An Interview with God doesn’t provide a template for how we the viewers should converse with God.
The message of the film is that ultimately you’ve got to seek the truth for yourself and weigh up the evidence before coming to a conclusion.