Tribeca 2022: God’s Time Review

This will be one of several reviews from this year’s Tribeca film Festival. To follow our coverage, click here.

Much of the world may be on the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic but that doesn’t mean the end of pandemic productions. The pandemic has forced plenty of productions to be creative in making the most out of its circumstances for better or worse, taking precautions both narratively and practically to varying degrees of success. God’s Time is a hilarious indie pandemic-adjacent and addiction-adjacent dark comedy in spite of its dark subject matter. Though the film will almost certainly not be for everyone, this grounded tale ultimately works thanks to the dynamic at its center led by Ben Groh, scene-stealing in his first feature film role, and Dion Costelloe. Running at a relatively short 80+ minutes, the film offers an interesting perspective, including some fourth wall breaking, and plenty of heart even though it probably did not go about it in the best of ways at times. The back and forth dynamic just made it more relatable overall.

God’s Time centers around the addiction recovery community and a pair of recovering addicts and friends named Dev (Groh) and Luca (Costelloe) who become concerned when one their group mates, a woman named Regina (Sierra) shared her desire to murder her ex-boyfriend Russel (Jared Abrahamson). Suffice it to say that Dev was a personality and that personality was perhaps prone to jumping to conclusions due to his inability to process his emotions like a normal person would. He and Luca may be struggling but at least they had each other. It was that loyalty that kept Luca around, essentially acting as a straight man to Dev. That being said, he still had a stake in the story. Whether or not Regina was telling truth remained to be seen but Dev and Luca weren’t going to allow her to make such a mistake that could ruin the rest of her life. Trying to get to the bottom of it took them on a wild journey with a few stumbles along the way. As hilarious as it was tense and emotional, the two were fun to watch. Meanwhile, Regina proved to be a fiery foil, nicely adding to the Dev and Luca dynamic.

At the end of the day, the best part of God’s Time was of course the performances of Groh and Costelloe as Dev and Luca. Groh delivers a star-making performance, bringing such an energy and a presence to him that it was hard to not look away. His chemistry with Costelloe make the film by giving it heart and creating a likable dynamic.

Make the time for God’s Time.

still courtesy of Tribeca

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.