Just a few housekeeping notes before I dive into this review: for reasons I’m not quite clear on, the version I viewed of writer/director Nick Cassavetes' latest work, God Is a Bullet, was labelled as the “Director’s Cut,” so I don’t know if this is the same version of the film that is now playing in theaters, but I’m fairly certainly that what I saw would not qualify for an R rating, because some of the violence is so graphic and extreme that I can’t imagine the ratings board letting this one pass as even a hard R. Also, this cut of the film was about two-and-a-half hours long. If there is indeed a theatrical cut, I don’t know how much shorter it might be, but as it stands, this version is probably 20 minutes too long, at least.
God Is a Bullet tells the story of a local law-enforcement officer named Bob Hightower (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), whose ex-wife is murdered and teen daughter kidnapped by heavily tattooed members of what appears to be a Satanic cult. Case Hardin (Maika Monroe), the only known female victim escapee from the cult, reaches out to Bob to hopefully help him in his search and also make a little money while she does. Desperate to save his daughter, Bob quits the force and he and Case head out into the great unknown together, with the first stop being an all-purpose criminal supplier, The Ferryman (Jamie Foxx). The Ferryman loads them up with weapons and loads Bob with an arm and chest full of tattoos, so he looks the would-be satanist part and not like a cop.
Naturally, Case has her own reasons for wanting to find the cult in the first place, including its terrifying leader Cyrus (Karl Glusman), who places no value on any human life other than his own. But the cult members also seem organized, skilled, and able to carry out a mission, whether it involves kidnapping, robbery, or simply kicking off some chaos. The cast is rounded out effectively enough by January Jones as the wife of Hightower’s boss on the force; by Ethan Suplee as a higher-up in the cult, Paul Johansson and Jonathan Tucker.
The closer Hightower gets to the cult, the less certain he is that his daughter is even still alive. Meanwhile, Case’s nerves are on edge as she prepares to reunite with Cyrus, who took so much from her when she was with the group. As mentioned, the version of God Is a Bullet that I saw was about as bloody and gory as I could imagine. Faces are literally blown off with shotguns; people are beaten severely, almost to death; and the final showdown between Hightower and the cult members is both explosive and just plain old wild.
Despite the fact that the film is too long in its current form, I was always fully engaged, wondering where the hell this thing was going to take me next and then instantly regretting that I wondered at all. Considering that Cassavetes is the same filmmaker who made The Notebook, you should be warned going into God Is a Bullet that this is more like another of his works, Alpha Male; I don’t want anyone to get hurt making the wrong assumption. This is a movie that wonders where the line is that shouldn't be crossed and then leaps over it with much delight, and not just as far as the violence is concerned. The descriptions of what happened to Case while under Cyrus’s control are gut-wrenching, and what is going on with Hightower’s daughter while she’s being held prisoner isn’t much better.
Coster-Waldau is actually quite good here as a religious man who quickly has his faith stripped away and his mind lost the closer he gets to finding his daughter. He has seen too many things that challenge what he believes, and he’s ready to exit this world as soon as humanly possible. But it’s Monroe who really impressed me here, as a young woman who refuses to ever allow anyone to feel sorry for her. She’s fearless as an actor, and Case is equally so as a survivor.
By the time we get around to the point in the story where we realize there’s a connection between Cyrus and certain local politicians in Hightower’s town, and that what happened to his family may not have been a random occurrence, I was exhausted from so much male-driven, tough-guy posturing. Still, the film has something going for it, and I bet a cut-down theatrical version of what I watched might just be the thing I need to recommend it more. As it is, I’m still saying there’s enough here to advise you to check it out, but be warned, because God Is a Bullet isn’t looking to take prisoners.
By the way, the title of the film, I believe, comes from the song of the same name by one of my all-time favorite bands, Concrete Blonde. It’s nice to see the group recognized, but considering the song is about police brutality, perhaps the message was lost on Cassavetes.
The film is now playing in theaters.
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