Watching Angela Bassett’s Bernadine masterfully cuss her freshly estranged husband out as she dragged his clothes, jewelry and shoes into his vintage BMW before setting it ablaze and walking off unapologetically in Waiting To Exhale has become a rite of passage for Black women. Seething with rage and resentment, this iconic moment lives on in the history of great cinema, not only for the spell Bassett’s performance casts over the viewer, but for the cathartic release — and rebirth — it continues to give to women wronged by the ones they sacrificed themselves to love.
Now, 30 years later, Is God Is walks in the lineage of that scene. (Spoilers ahead)
Directed by playwright Aleshea Harris, this revenge thriller follows twin sisters Racine (Kara Young) and Anaia (Mallori Johnson) as they embark on a mission to kill their father (Sterling K. Brown). The twins grew up paying for his sins. Because of their scars from the fire their father started, they endured a life of bullying and abuse from classmates and foster parents.
Anaia, who suffered more severe scars on her face for trying to save their mother, Ruby the God, deftly played by Vivica A. Fox, got the worst of it. Called home by their dying mother, who tells them to “make their daddy dead,” Racine sees it as “some destiny type sh-t.” This film does what few have: it depicts Black women with a full spectrum of anger. Viewers are a witness to their rage, fury, aggression, indignation and wrath. Harris built a world of expression that allows these characters to be fully human in their hurt in vastly different ways.
Too often, audiences have watched films play into angry Black woman stereotypes or create flat characters with a limited range of emotions. This has plagued women in the real world as well, with some Black women being hypervigilant about how and when we give ourselves permission to show anger. Harris doesn’t ignore this. Through characters like Divine (Erika Alexander) and Angie (Janelle Monáe), we see religion and class play into how Black women can repress anger. Though this is a survival tactic, it reinforces a cycle of protection for the man who hurt them.
Even when Anaia, who is with child, lets her guard down, she pays for it. Twice. The same pattern of violence she believes the men who hurt her are above or healed from shows up. Though Racine’s approach to protecting her sister comes off as brash, viewers see that it is for a bigger reason. Had Racine not stepped in to protect Anaia, she and her unborn child would have died. The revenge itself isn’t the destiny Racine spoke of. It was the course correction needed to protect the next generation from experiencing the same traumas.
Though revenge is a major driver of this film, it isn’t the only focus that matters here. “Is God Is” explores a range of how the women characters it features deal with the violence Brown’s character enacts. It’s as palpable as it is protection. And it’s timely. Over the past few months, we’ve seen an alarming number of Black women, including Cerina Fairfax and Nancy Metayer Bowen, killed by their partners. At a time when Black femicide numbers have escalated drastically, watching Is God Is feels like a balm.
At a New York City screening hosted by Amazon, MGM Studios and Cecred, Alana Mayo, Orion Pictures President, said she greenlit this film because “it was so disruptive and creative and original” because these women were “fully embodied” and don’t play into respectability politics. That raw vulnerability has been few and far between in recent theatrical releases that highlight Black women’s stories.
Though one film can’t reverse or negate the toll of bottling up the pain inflicted from multigenerational misogynoir, it can offer a release for those feeling suffocated by the harsh realities of Black womanhood, even for just a couple of hours.
Yes, this film can be triggering and hard to watch for some, especially those who have experienced domestic violence. At the same time, films that build a bridge for more of us to explore the full range of our anger in a world that expects us to take what’s handed to us offer voice and humanity.
And that’s why we need to see these stories at the box office.
Waiting to Exhale made nearly $82 million during its 1995 theatrical release, proving that stories of Black women expressing their rage can be commercially successful.
My thoughts on “Is God Is” without spoilers:
– go see it IN THEATERS. Now!
– Great use of storytelling to depict what the reality is like for black women who are survivors of abuse.
-is it a unwritten rule u cant call your literal twin “twin” lmao?
-everybody performed well🤩
— #MOST (@jeandeauxmusic) May 17, 2026
Is God Is opened to a modest $2.2 million this past weekend. But if the online chatter is any indication, there is a growing groundswell for people to see this film two or three times. There’s a freedom in that reminder that we’re allowed to be mad, and even more power when we support these depictions with our dollars.
Is God Is is now playing in theaters.