When I first took a look at the synopsis for God's Waiting List, I was prepared to be bored out of my mind. The movie sounded a little too wishy-washy for my tastes and it was of little interest to me. I, however, found the movie to be the exact opposite. The story was compelling and the characters were intriguing. In the end, I found myself drawn to the movie. God's Waiting List offers a riveting and thought-provoking story about three individuals as they their faith is put to the test.

The story is about two siblings, Solomon (Roger Guenveur Smith) and Teresa Corbin (Nicki Micheaux), and their rise and fall in life and how it affects their faith in God, life, themselves, mankind, and so on. Solomon and Teresa were raised in the Roman Catholic Church. When their mother passed away, Solomon lost his faith in God and the general goodwill in mankind, while Teresa held strongly to her faith and believes miracles can happen. Teresa is also a lesbian whose partner is Rachel Shelley (Nian Aster). Rachel is an important character to this story and she has a history with drugs and the underbelly of life. It was Teresa who helped her straighten her life out.

In the opening of the movie, the three main characters Solomon, Teresa, and Rachel celebrate the grand opening of Solomon's dream, his own record store. Teresa also reveals she is on the verge of realizing her own dream, which is managing a floral design store. Teresa and Rachel's relationship is also advancing very well, with the two madly in love with each other. In general, life is good for the cast.

Solomon's methods for funding the record store were not entirely on the up and up. He turned to the underbelly of society and borrowed money from a rampant loan shark. After opening the business, Solomon decided he no longer wanted to go along with the loan shark. In response, the two goons Arbie (Malcolm Foster Smith) and Cinch (Eric Edelstein) were sent after him. The next day, Solomon and Teresa went out to celebrate their newfound stations in life. While driving around town, they run into Arbie and Cinch and a car chase ensues. Sadly, they get in an accident and Teresa is left without the use of her lower body. This event marks the end of the rise of the Corbin's and slowly their lives begin to fall.

After Teresa gets out of the hospital, she doubts her faith in God and those around her. She pushes Rachel away and is reluctant to go to Church. Eventually, she finds her faith again through the persistence of her church going friends Sylvia (Lauren Tom), Beryl (Joanne Baron), Jennifer (Ingrid Oliu-Ostrom), and Trixie (Felicia Day). On the other hand, when Rachel is pushed away from Teresa she reverts to her previous habits and embarks in a new taste in life. She finds herself partnered with Solomon in a life of drugs and sex. Hating each day, Rachel pines to be with Teresa once again.

Solomon is stricken with guilt as he is the reason his sister is paraplegic. And the fact she does not know his role in her condition, makes it even harder for him to face her and deal with it. Trying to fix his problem with the loan shark, Solomon cuts a deal to sell cocaine for him, which he begins to use himself with Rachel. As the movie continues, his life heads down the toilet and he loses everything.

The real interest in the story is watching Solomon and Rachel piss away everything, while Teresa clings to her faith and tries to overcome her disability. The individual portrayal the actors have of their characters is fantastic. They do a great job projecting their emotions, Solomon's guilt, Rachel's dislike in herself, and Teresa's undying faith in God. In the end, you will feel the character's pain, sorrow, and happiness and easily connect with them and the story.

The DVD

Video:
The movie is presented in letterbox format (non-anamorphic 1.78:1 ratio widescreen with black bars in a full frame transfer). The picture is relatively good looking with minimal color flaws and compression distortions.

Audio:
The audio is given in 2.0 channel stereo sound. The track is dialogue driven and it is audible throughout the presentation. Music, when present, offers a decent amount of bass.

Extras:
The extras include a music video "Duck 2 Ways", a standard behind the scenes featurette, and an audio commentary with director/producer Duane Alder and writer/producer Nian Aster.

Final Thoughts:
God's Waiting List is a movie about faith and what happens to three different individuals whose lives are interconnected. The story, in detail, shows the rise and fall of their successes and failures, as a crippling accident puts their lives in an upheaval. The story is fairly dramatic and it includes some very strong performances from its cast, who do a fine job making their emotions feel real. In the end, God's Waiting List will hook you with its compelling character as they test the vigor of their faith.