Listen Up For ‘The God Inside My Ear’ – A Movie Review

At least if Fred (Joseph Estrade) had left her for another woman, Elizia (Linnea Gregg) would know where she stands, but when Fred breaks up with her because local wizards have put him in touch with his inner ear, Elizia’s thrown for a loop. Having found more fulfillment from an ear tattoo on his palm than their relationship, it’s not obvious that they were ever a good match to begin with, but they were happy before the events of director and writer, Joe Badon’s, feature debut, The God Inside My Ear.

What went wrong? The better question might be ‘when?’ Is their break-up the moment Elizia lands on a path to hearing voices, or would the phone call she answers with an AOL reminiscent dial tone have happened whether she was single or not? It seems too coincidental that they’d experience enlightenment at the same time (if to adverse effect, with Fred finding peace while Elizia grows more agitated), but Badon never has the script connect their journeys. Fred’s involvement with Elizia’s breakdown might be circumstantial, or entirely critical, but it all swirls together, in a bombardment of visuals that go from retro to psychedelic.
While these visuals set the film firmly in the abstract, sound is where The God Inside My Ear arguably makes its most interesting statements. Each of the voices Elizia hears resonates with a different accent. All carry some level of detachment from their sources – an object that shouldn’t be able to speak or a stranger’s voice afforded too much power. Elizia herself takes on a monotone while at work and at home her technology’s outdated.
Badon zooms in on a land line to manifest it with extra menace but this focus also makes you remember it’s a phone and the person speaking isn’t in the room with Elizia. The same goes for a televangelist on TV, yet the influence these voices have on her is as if they were present. She can’t not answer their call, and in a year where people are more likely to e-mail and text than pick up a phone to talk, the timing of this movie adds to its unusualness.
In certain scenes, Gregg’s performance calls to mind Aubrey Plaza or Natalie Morales. Her reactions can be very unflappable and resigned, but then there are glimpses of the emotional turmoil underneath. What’s going on in this movie exactly? Religious symbolism, Peter Pan syndrome, and gender politics all offer possible avenues for exploration. Then there’s, of course, the possibility that these voices are in Elizia’s head, and the lesson is that, instead of treating them like her nosy next door neighbor (Dorian Rush), she should listen to what they have to say.
While watching the film, it never occurred to me that we might get something close to a concrete answer, so the fact that the ending offers an explanation for some of the recurring images was a surprise, after being prepared for something more vague or open to interpretation. That’s not to say the film ties everything up in a bow, but after all the ambiguity, there’s something solid for viewers to ponder. It’s not every film that can satisfy viewers who like conclusions and viewers who like to speculate, but The God Inside My Ear does one of the best jobs I’ve ever encountered.

For more information on The God Inside My Ear, and future screenings, be sure to follow the film’s Facebook page.