Director: Jeymes Samuel

Stars: LaKeith Stanfield, Omar Sy, Anna Diop, RJ Cyler, Teyana Taylor, Marianne Jean-Baptiste

British director Samuel’s stoner biblical comedy, the follow-up to his supremely confident Western ‘The Harder They Fall’, feels less sure-footed. Stanfield is Clarence, the opportunistic twin brother of apostle Thomas. A frantic scene-setting opening sees him competing in a chariot race with Mary Magdalene (Taylor), one of many nods to classic Hollywood epics. Clarence needs to raise the money to secure a bigger house for his mother (Jean-Baptiste) and pay off a fearsome local gangster. Noting the impact of his contemporary, Jesus, he decides to pose as a messiah aided and abetted by his pal Elijah (Cyler). His scam however attracts the attention of the occupying Romans, personified by James McAvoy’s Pontius Pilate, and later causes Clarence to question his own behaviour and (lack of) belief. Despite a promising comic conceit and estimable and game cast, the picture never really finds its footing and feels tonally uncertain over a lengthy two-hour running time. There’s an over reliance on anachronisms too with biblical scenes rendered like rap videos. The more earnest third act feels particularly unconvincing and unearned. A huge disappointment.

David Willoughby

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