Amazon’s “Hand of God” features an undeniably talented cast,
high budget and notable pedigree behind the camera, including the first series
directorial work by Marc Forster of “Monster’s Ball” and “World War Z.” So, it looks good. Sadly, that polished exterior hides a filthy, vile interior.
“Hand of God” is one the ugliest shows I’ve seen since the television nadir of
“Stalker” on CBS, populated with unlikable characters and a tone that downright
mocks tragedy, grief, crime and religion. It is “Dexter” with no moral code, a
show that takes the anti-hero trend to extremes and presents viewers with
nothing to latch onto or identify with. In one episode, a rape victim is forced
to look at a man’s penis in the hope that she may recognize the appendage even
though she doesn’t remember him. In another, a homeless man is pushed into the
ground to drink his own piss. In yet another, a woman recreates the suicide
attempt of her husband down to putting a gun in her mouth. “Hand of God”
premieres in its entirety on Friday, September 4th on Amazon (for
the record, I made it through five, half the season). I can’t imagine anyone
watching all ten and not needing multiple showers.
Part of the Amazon Pilot Season programs that went out a
year ago and then allowed viewer interest to determine what received a season
order, “Hand of God” opens with Judge Pernell Harris (Ron Perlman) standing
naked in a fountain, speaking in tongues. Apparently, Harris has been on a
walkabout for a few days, drowning in the grief over the fact that his son PJ
(Johnny Ferro) lies in a vegetative state after putting a gun in his mouth and
pulling the trigger. PJ couldn’t handle the torturous existence after his wife
Jocelyn (Alona Tal) was raped in front of him. The doctors say that PJ won’t
recover. Machines are keeping him alive. Jocelyn wants to pull the plug, but
Harris convinces himself that PJ will miraculously recover if he can solve the
mystery of who raped Jocelyn. In fact, he has visions that are helping him
solve the case. The irascible judge has found religion, and he believes the
hand of God will guide him to justice and miracles.
This journey pushes him across the path of a small ministry
called, of course, Hand of God, run by the slightly sleazy Reverend Paul Curtis
(Julian Morris), who first appears with a $50,000 check from the good judge. Is
the Reverend using this new cash cow or can he really guide Morris to the
light? The Reverend’s assistant Alicia (Elizabeth McLaughlin), the kind of
woman who will do anything to push the man she believes in to the top, sure
hopes Pernell can be the essential benefactor for Hand of God. Meanwhile, Bobo
(Andre Royo of “The Wire”) needs Pernell to come back to the land of the sane
to actually get some work done, while Mrs. Harris (Dana Delany) isn’t sure who
to trust or believe. Finally, career criminal KD (Garret Dillahunt) believes he
has been sent to serve Harris, doing whatever that takes.
A great cast can’t rescue “Hand of God” from itself. Perlman
and the always-excellent Dillahunt make it out relatively unscathed largely by
virtue of having the most well-defined characters, but Delany has been given
such a non-character that when she’s forced to emote it just doesn’t work. I
never bought it, and a scene of grief at the end of episode two is downright
embarrassingly written and directed. Most of the characters, especially the
female ones, are mere plot devices, designed to push Pernell in one direction
or another. I’m not sure if Tal just can’t handle the overwrought scenes of
spousal grief or if they’re poorly written—probably a bit of both.
Worst of all, there’s a strange, mocking tone to it all,
especially when it comes to religion. Is “Hand of God” demonizing a religious
industry that often uses grief for its own gain? It can’t decide. And that’s
the overall problem—tonal indecision. When we wander through a world of
criminals, torture, rape, murder, violence and religious condemnation, there
needs to be a reason for the journey—a statement, a message, even just a
character study. “Hand of God” never offers one.
