Release: Man of God

 

Man of God

Genre: Drama/Thriller

Director: James Mangold

Writers: Sammy-Jo Ellis & John Malone

Cast: Josh Brolin, Robert Aramayo, Michael Shannon, Melissa George, Jon Voight, Billy Howle, Emma Myers, Tim Blake Nelson

Budget: $30,000,000

Domestic Box Office: $47,494,656

Foreign Box Office: $16,000,012

Total Profit: $2,017,490

Reaction: This one just narrowly managed to break even, but given the film's subject matter and adult-oriented story we are happy with any profits.

"James Mangold’s Man of God is a grim, morally abrasive thriller that weaponizes restraint, allowing faith, guilt, and obsession to grind against each other until something finally breaks. Josh Brolin delivers one of his most controlled performances in years, playing John Simonette not as a crusader but as a man quietly hollowed out by certainty, while Michael Shannon’s brief but chilling appearance sets the film’s dread into motion. Robert Aramayo’s late-film turn is genuinely disturbing without tipping into caricature. The film’s refusal to offer easy redemption or moral clarity may frustrate some, but its final act lands with a cold, unsettling confidence that lingers well after the credits." - Vince DeSalvo, Empire State Tribune

“Part inspiration porn and part harrowing tale of redemption and religion, Man of God is a haunting tale that shows the depths that people will go in order to find salvation. Yet, in spite of its religious exterior, those who explore its interior will find something for everyone.” - Mitchell Parker, New York Times 

"Man of God is a deliberately paced moral thriller that often feels more interested in spiritual inquiry than narrative propulsion, sometimes to its own detriment. Mangold frames West Texas as a purgatorial landscape, and Brolin’s stoic performance anchors the film. Michael Shannon’s early scenes cast a powerful shadow the film never quite escapes, and while Robert Aramayo brings unnerving conviction to the final movement, the escalation arrives almost too late. Thoughtful and competently crafted, Man of God provokes serious questions about faith and responsibility, even if it doesn’t always dramatize them with equal force." - Evelyn Shadwell, The Lexington Herald

Rated R for strong violence, language, and intense thematic material