Let's do a 180 from "The Gray Man" to a small indie film from a first-time director, Tyler Riggs. I'm far more excited to write about this film. Like "American Honey," "Honey Boy," "Zola," "The Florida Project," and "Red Rocket," (I could keep going!) "God's Waiting Room" shares an intimate and candid portrait of its subjects in an almost documentary style. In all of these films, we are dealing with working class to impoverished people, substance abuse, and people hustling to get out of their horrid situations. In this case we have Rosie (Nisalda Gonzalez) who is living with her single dad, Nino (Ray Benitez) who works doing interlock driveways for wealthy homeowners in central Florida. Rosie wants to be a song writer/singer. Her dad wants her to go to school. Rosie has been hanging out with Jules (Matthew Leone) - a small time hapless drug dealer - to the disapproval of her friends and father. The story also follows a young man just released from prison after serving 12 years for murder, played by Tyler Riggs. Tyler Riggs - what a talent this guy is! He wrote, directed and stars in this movie and it's really good. I'm not sure if the songs that Rosie sings were also written by Tyler Riggs but they are truly special and Ms. Gonzalez sings the shit out of them. These kids, these people, they felt real to me and you could feel the sticky humidity of Florida on your skin. Films like "God's Waiting Room" are why I love going to the movies - there is beauty and tragedy at play here and it would well be worth your time to have a seat in "God's Waiting Room." Catch it at your local rep cinema, if possible, or on streaming services.
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