The God Committee

7/10 - genuinely interesting dive into the ethics and forces at play in the hospital that is only slightly derailed by a secondary plot that is pretty unnecessary for the most part.

As "The God Committee" (2021 release; 98 min.) opens, we see a young man on a bike get his by a car in a hit-and-run. We then go to "November 6, 2014, New York City", where we get to know Dr. Boxer, a well-known heart surgeon, and Dr. Taylor, his lover and also a heart surgeon at the same hospital. Dr. Taylor has just gotten named to the heart committee, which decides which patients get a heart transplant. We then go the "7 Years Later, Dec. 20", as Dr. Boxer is making a presentation to investors about cross-species organ transplants... At this point we are less than 15 min. Into the movie, but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the second feature length from producer-writer-director Austin Stark ("The Runner"). Here he takes a look at the drama that plays out in hospitals all over the country all over this country, namely how organs are allocated (to whom and in which order) to those in need of a transplant. Let's just say that there are a lot of ethical considerations that make is quite easy to write into a medical drama like this one. At times, the movie is intriguing but all to often the movie is uneven, and the script not strong enough. The saving grace comes by way of the two lead performers, namely Kelsey Grammer (as Dr. Boxer< and he also executive-produces), and Julia Stiles (as Dr. Taylor; it blows the mind that in the meantime she has turned 40). There is a nice instrumental score, courtesy of the Newton Brothers (who also score Stark's previous film "The Runner").

"The God Committee" was film in 2019 and was supposed to premier at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, but then a little thing called COVID-19 had different ideas. The movie finally premiered at the recent 2021 Tribeca Film Festival and premiered in select US theaters this weekend. The Sunday matinee screening where I saw this at my local arthouse theater here in Cincinnati was attended so-so: exactly 10 people, and heavily tilting towards seniors (not that there is anything wrong with that). If you have any interest in a medical ethics drama, or simply are a fan of Kelsey Grammer or Julia Stiles, I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it in the theater, on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.

I really enjoyed this movie. Kelsey Grammer did a great job. This movie left us with a lot of "what would you do in that scenario?" questions.

The plots are developed in slow and boring ways. It's too bad because the acting isn't that bad. Julia Stiles is wonderful as usual but is portrayed in a relationship that is utterly unbelievable.

I am kidney transplant recipient (2-2011) When I was called to the hospital, another patient waiting for a kidney too, was called, our romms were next to each other, so we crossed sight at one point. Since there were 2 kidneys, one was for him and the other for me. I was taken to the operation room the next day and had a succesful surgery. The next day after the surgery I found out the other patient was sent home with out having a transplant, because since my donor passed in a car accident, one kidney was too damaged and was not suitible for transplant. I've been always wondering how the commite decided to give the surviving kidney to me.