''God's Country'' is a 2022 American

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

co-written and directed by Julian Higgins, based on the short story "Winter Light" by

James Lee Burke James Lee Burke (born December 5, 1936) is an American author, best known for his Dave Robicheaux series. He has won Edgar Awards for his novels ''Black Cherry Blues'' (1990), ''Cimarron Rose'' (1998), and ''Flags on the Bayou'' (2024). He has ...

. The film stars

Thandiwe Newton Melanie Thandiwe Newton ( ; born 6 November 1972), formerly credited as Thandie Newton ( ), is a British actress. She has received various awards, including a Primetime Emmy Award, and a BAFTA Award, as well as nominations for two Golden Globe ...

Jeremy Bobb Jeremy Bobb (born May 13, 1981) is an American actor who has appeared on stage, television and in feature films. He had a recurring role in CBS's 2013 drama '' Hostages'' as White House Chief of Staff Quintin Creasy and co-starred as Herman Bar ...

, Joris Jarsky, Jefferson White, Kai Lennox, and

Tanaya Beatty Tanaya Beatty (born February 12, 1991) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her role as List of Twilight cast members#Humans, Rachel Black in the movie adaptation of ''The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1'' as well as her starring roles a ...

. 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 New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, the events of

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

convince Sandra to move with her mother to a remote and cold region of

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, 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

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 Park City is a city in Utah, United States. Most of the city is within Summit County, Utah, Summit County, with some portions extending into Wasatch County, Utah, Wasatch County. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is sou ...

. It was released theatrically in the United States by

IFC Films Independent Film Company (formerly IFC Films) is an American film production and distribution company based in New York City, New York. It is an offshoot of IFC (U.S. TV channel), IFC, owned by AMC Networks. It mainly distributes independent fil ...

on September 16, 2022, and on VOD by IFC Video on October 4, 2022.

Reception

Box office

''God's Country'' grossed $493,679 in the United States.

Critical response

Brian Tallerico of ''

RogerEbert.com ''RogerEbert.com'' is an American film review website that archives reviews written by film critic Roger Ebert for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' and also shares other critics' reviews and essays. The website, underwritten by the ''Chicago Sun-Times ...

'' 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." Dennis Harvey of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' 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."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:God's Country (2022 film) 2022 films 2022 thriller films 2022 Western (genre) films 2020s American films 2020s English-language films American films about revenge American thriller films American Western (genre) films Contemporary Western films English-language thriller films English-language Western (genre) films Films about educators Films based on American short stories Films based on works by James Lee Burke Films set in Montana Films set in universities and colleges IFC Films films