‘God’s Country’ Review: Thandiwe Newton Anchors a Thriller of Escalating Disputes in Big Sky Country
variety.comDennis Harvey Film CriticRace, class and cultural divides are probed with intriguing understatement in “God’s Country.” Julian Higgins’ first feature can be taken as a drama with thriller elements or a low-key thriller with atypical dramatic nuance, working either way as a quietly effective balance between genre, social issue and character study elements.
Based on a James Lee Burke story, it stars Thandiwe Newton as a college professor whose fish-out-of-water status in rural Montana is exacerbated when she runs afoul of trespassing working-class hunters.
Too modest in scope and impact to be a major breakout title, this Sundance premiere should nonetheless attract streaming outlets and other home-format providers.
The screenplay by Higgins and Shaye Ogbonna (who co-wrote 2017’s impressive, underseen crime tale “Lowlife”) is a “western” in that it’s on the laconic side verbally, at least most of the time.
Read more on variety.com
