First released (after being delayed by the COVID lockdowns) in 2021, The God Committee tells the story of a group of doctors faced with a difficult decision.

They’re the so-called God Committee, the ones who have been tasked with deciding which one of their patients will be receiving a new heart.  When the original “next name on this list” suddenly dies while being prepped for surgery, it comes down to three other possibilities.  One is a cranky old woman who has said that she doesn’t even want a new heart.  Another is a middle-aged, obese Black family man who suffers from bipolar disorder and who, years earlier, attempted to commit suicide.  And finally, there’s a young white guy who is famous for his addictions and his wild lifestyle.  He’s just arrived at the hospital, in critical condition.  Normally, his history of cocaine addiction would rule him out as a possible recipient but his father (Dan Hedaya) is rich and the hospital is in desperate need of money.

“I’m not going to let a good heart go to waste,” the brilliant Dr. Andre Boxer (Kelsey Grammer) says and he has a point.  Most candidates for a heart transplant die before a suitable heart is found.  This heart, taken from a teenage boy was hit by a car while returning home from a date, is a good one but it won’t stay viable forever.  Boxer, who is scheduled to leave the hospital in another month to set up his own private practice, is torn between the candidates.  Dr. Valerie Gilroy (Janeane Garofalo) and Father Dunbar — a disbarred lawyer-turned-priest — both feel the heart should go to the patient whose father can afford to fund the hospital.  Even if the decision is made just for the money, it’ll still do some good.  Dr. Jordan Taylor (Julie Stiles), who is Dr. Boxer’s former lover, is not so sure.  Psychiatrist Dr. Allen Lau (Peter Kim) recuses himself from voting for personal reasons and Nurse Wilkes (Patricia R. Floyd) eventually casts a vote that takes everyone by surprise.

While the God Committee debates who should get the heart, the film occasionally flashes forward.  Dr. Boxer, who is now dying and in need of a heart transplant himself, is working on a project that, if successful, will revolutionize the organ transplant business.  But will he survive long enough to see it completed?  Dr. Taylor, now in charge of the God Committee, tracks him down and asks him if he’s ready to see his son.  Though it takes a while for us to understand why and how, the decision that Doctors Boxer and Taylor made in the past will continue to have repercussions in the present.

The God Committee is based on a play.  Even if I didn’t already know that, I would have guessed as much from watching the film.  The God Committee is type of melodrama that tends to work better on stage than on film.  The artificiality of the stage allows for a story to be a bit overbaked and heavy handed.  On the other hand,  as a film, The God Committee‘s arguments are stacked so heavily to one side that it weighs down the plot.  It’s not enough for the rich candidate to be a former drug addict.  He also has to beat his pregnant girlfriend and leave her with a roadmap of cuts crisscrossing across her face.  It’s not for the good candidate to simply be a nice guy with a family.  Instead, he’s presented as being almost saintly.  There’s nothing subtle about it.

Fortunately, the talented cast steps up and keeps the story from going off the rails, with Julia Stiles, Colman Domingo, and Kelsey Grammer especially bringing some much-needed shading and nuance to their roles.  Grammer especially does well as the genius who can save lives and change the world but who struggles to connect with anyone on an emotional level.  In the end, The God Committee works due to the strength of its performers, all of whom bring their characters to multi-layered life and who remind us that it’s never easy to play God.