Faith Ba$ed

Vincent Masciale's Faith Based is a wonderfully vibrant and comedically brilliant dramedy that houses a terrific on-screen partnership between Luke Barnett and Tanner Thomason. 

The comedy throughout is pure brilliance. Gone is a more tonally accepted arguably easier farcical approach and in its wake is a subtle, nuanced comedy that digs deeper and delivers on far higher returns. Attributed to the superb screenplay from writer and star Barnett, who layers the screenplay with social commentary and highlights the gravitas of religious-based features indirectly and ingeniously with comedy.

The impressive prowess of Barnett does not stop there; his performance alongside Thomason, who is just as effective with a strong balance of tone in the characters respective arc, are a duo that consistently delivers brilliant comedic nature from timing to range. The latter of which is arguably the most surprising yet conclusive element that makes Masciale's Faith Based tick. The duo's back and forth is full to the brim of charisma and that charismatic nature is a brilliant ride of entertainment value as the film explores each character's respective arcs and, ultimately, their growth as individuals and their respective purposes. All the while the film balances the intimacy of this friendship with broader themes in the likes of prejudice, religion, nostalgia – in a list can go on and on.

Ultimately, these are elements that craft a multilayered and engaging feature that explores an abundance of themes with strong and consistently effective arcs. Faith Based is in no way a simplistic one-note comedic entity set out to purely attack organised religion but far from it. Masciale's feature is a strong comedic drama that draws and examines society as a whole in all its absurdity and fragility with sharpness and distinguished magnetism.