God's Pocket
A debt-ridden neighborhood fixer conceals his stepson's suspicious death while family pressure and grim local realities close in around him.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- sardonic
- bleak
- grotesque
- late night viewing
- indie film night
What critics said
Critics found the cast and direction strong but judged the film too clichéd and tonally inconsistent to fully balance its comedy and drama.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Mickey struggles to dispose of Leon's body while facing debts, marital pressure, and neighborhood indifference.
God's Pocket functions as a closed working-class community where construction workers, families, and local fixers are tightly entangled.
Mickey attempts to suppress the circumstances of Leon's death and hide the bad news from Jeannie.
The film treats a suspicious construction death, an unmanageable body, and financial desperation with abrasive dark humor.
Films like God's Pocket, and why
The Funeral
Shared working-class setting, bleak humor, crime-adjacent drama, and morally compromised characters.
The King of Staten Island
Shared mix of dark comedy, neighborhood dysfunction, shabby realism, and tragicomic social observation.
The Ice Harvest
Shared offbeat crime drama, grim humor, and fatalistic portrait of working-class outsiders.
In Bruges
Shared small-scale tragedy, abrasive characters, and tonal blending of drama with grotesque comedy.
Movie Details
- Director
- John Slattery
- Release Date
- 2014-05-09
- Runtime
- 88 min
- Rating
- 5.8 / 10 (224)
Cast
- Philip Seymour Hoffman
- Richard Jenkins
- Christina Hendricks
- John Turturro
- Eddie Marsan
- Caleb Landry Jones
- Domenick Lombardozzi
- Eddie McGee
- Lenny Venito
- Peter Gerety
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, AMC+, Sundance Now
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is God's Pocket about?
- A debt-ridden neighborhood fixer conceals his stepson's suspicious death while family pressure and grim local realities close in around him.
- What is God's Pocket like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of God's Pocket as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is God's Pocket violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in God's Pocket as moderate.
- What did critics think of God's Pocket?
- Critics found the cast and direction strong but judged the film too clichéd and tonally inconsistent to fully balance its comedy and drama.
- Which films are like God's Pocket?
- Films with a similar feel include The Funeral, The King of Staten Island, The Ice Harvest, and In Bruges.
- How long is God's Pocket?
- God's Pocket runs 88 minutes.
- Where can I watch God's Pocket?
- In United States, God's Pocket streams on Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, AMC+, Sundance Now.
