I thought there was potential here but all throughout I found it somewhat underwhelming. Paul Asher (Brenton Thwaites) questions his faith upon return home from a journalistic assignment in Afghanistan, at which time he recognizes that his marriage is falling apart. We're led to believe that the distance between him and his wife (Yael Grobglas) is due to his prolonged absence from home, compounded by the dedication and hours he devotes to his newspaper. That's true up to a point, but in a minor twist to the story, it's learned that his wife was unfaithful to him during his absence, and now faces her own crisis of conscience, believing she's not worthy to seek his forgiveness.
It wasn't really clear to me how Paul landed his gig interviewing God (David Strathairn), nor is it apparent how he became aware of each interview location on three successive days. They just sort of occurred at the proper time and place by...divine intervention? Much of the back and forth between Paul and God was of the standard variety, such as God knowing everything and human beings needing to find their own path to salvation. Sort of prosaic for the most part, though the topic of free will was broached when it came to why evil exists in the world and why bad things happen to good people. Therein lies most of the answer when it comes to the world's big problems.
As God, David Strathairn probably could have been more accessible had he indulged in a bit of humor. In that regard, my favorite film depiction of God would have been George Burns in the 1977 comedy "Oh, God". Very cordial and conversational, he was able to make his spiritual pitch in a manner that wasn't threatening and was even quite inspirational and uplifting. Mirroring Strathairn's intent as God, Burns came across much more friendly and informal, and who could object to God's declaration in that picture when he said - "I gave you a world and everything in it. It's all up to you".
It wasn't really clear to me how Paul landed his gig interviewing God (David Strathairn), nor is it apparent how he became aware of each interview location on three successive days. They just sort of occurred at the proper time and place by...divine intervention? Much of the back and forth between Paul and God was of the standard variety, such as God knowing everything and human beings needing to find their own path to salvation. Sort of prosaic for the most part, though the topic of free will was broached when it came to why evil exists in the world and why bad things happen to good people. Therein lies most of the answer when it comes to the world's big problems.
As God, David Strathairn probably could have been more accessible had he indulged in a bit of humor. In that regard, my favorite film depiction of God would have been George Burns in the 1977 comedy "Oh, God". Very cordial and conversational, he was able to make his spiritual pitch in a manner that wasn't threatening and was even quite inspirational and uplifting. Mirroring Strathairn's intent as God, Burns came across much more friendly and informal, and who could object to God's declaration in that picture when he said - "I gave you a world and everything in it. It's all up to you".