‘God’s Time’ Tribeca 2022 Review – A Dark Comedy About The Dangers of Addiction & Obsession

God’s Time is a fun, slightly jarring, dark comedy about the perils of replacing one addiction with another, and how the romantic antics seen in many rom-coms are actually extremely creepy and unnerving in real life.

Set against the backdrop of the pandemic, the movie revolves around friends, Dev (Ben Groh) and Luca (Dion Costelloe). Both are recovering addicts, and both share the same object of infatuation, Regina (Liz Caribel Sierra). Regina is also a recovering addict, and regularly vocalizes her desire to murder her ex, Russel (Jared Abrahamson). Dev, who is especially enamored with Regina, is the driving force in the quest to prevent Regina from acting on her murderous intentions when she suddenly stops attending their recovery meetings. Luca tags along out of loyalty and the two go on a wild journey to prevent Regina from destroying her life.

This movie was outlandish, jarring, and extremely funny all at once. Groh really shines as the charming, but obsessive Dev. He suffers from an affliction that many male leads in romantic comedies suffer from: they idealize a woman they barely know, only to end up sorely disappointed when they realize that she is human and just as flawed and fallible as they are. Dev’s entire journey is based on the assumption that Regina is completely serious about murdering her ex. You get the sense that he’s more in love with the idea of the chase than with actually being with Regina. Be that as it may, Groh delivers a performance that will have you rooting for Dev because he’s too entertaining of a character to not want the absolute best for.

Costelloe as Luca  brings a calmness and sense of maturity to that main duo that is very beneficial to the overall story. Yes, Dev is an entertaining character, but his high energy would be a lot to deal with if it wasn’t for Luca balancing him out. At first glance, Lucas is just Dev’s wingman who supports his hijinks, but halfway through the film, there’s a revelation about the nature of Luca and Regina’s relationship that turns the entire story on its head and adds another layer of drama to this fast paced story.

Sierra as the cold and elusive Regina does a great job as well. The main reason Regina is considering killing her ex is because he stole her dog when he was kicked out of their apartment. It might seem small and silly, but viewers come to realize that the pet acts as an emotional anchor for the character. Without someone to devote all of her love and time to, she’s afraid she might fall back into her old, drug abusing habits. She’s a sympathetic character and you can’t help but love her even when you should hate her.

Director and writer, Daniel Antebi, crafted a frenzied, but thrilling directorial debut that manages to provide serious commentary about the dangers of addiction and obsession even as the  characters bounce from one outlandish scenario to the other. While many moments throughout the film can be confusing, it’s definitely worth watching.