Daughter of God has a colourful back story. It was originally intended to be a quiet, surreal story about a Latina woman and the Dominican family she lives with, featuring subplots about violence against women and the twin effects of mass incarceration and police brutality on black and Latino communities.
Later, because of drastic changes in the film’s edit, Daughter of God became retitled as Exposed, a thriller starring Keanu Reeves. Large subplots involving Latino and black characters have been cut, and the trailer features predominantly white faces.
Detective Galban (Reeves) finds his close friend, detective Cullen, killed in a subway. While trying to find the killer, Galban begins to suspect Cullen’s partner may have been involved in corruption. The only person who knows about Cullen has been found dead. When Galban gets close to the truth, Lt. Christopher McDonal tries to persuade him not to continue as his findings may implicate the Police Department.
Galban’s investigation leads him to a young woman, Isobel de la Cruz (Ana de Armas), who lives with her in-laws. Isobel knows an important piece of information regarding the murder of Cullen. She becomes the main witness and the target for assassination but has experienced something “not of this world” that she believes to be a miracle. Not dissimilar to Galban, Isobel is dealing with her own spirit from the past; a past that may lead both of them to the truth.
I found this a very confusing movie to watch. The storylines cut from one to the other rapidly which leaves the viewer somewhat confused.
Keanu Reeves does not appear to be completely immersed in his character and so his performance does not ring true. This is unusual for Reeves, who is normally at home in the crime genre. Perhaps the script did not give him enough scope. Ana de Armas, however, delivers a fascinating portrayal of a woman trapped in her mind or religion, or both. She is riveting to watch. There are other performances that are creditable but unfortunately get lost in the subplots.
Overall Daughter of God requires a lot of patience to try to piece together the many storylines. I question it being worth the effort.
Reviewed by Barry Hill
Twitter: @kinesguy
Rating out of 10: 2
Daughter of God will be released on Blu-ray, DVD & Digital from 5 May 2016.
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