# The Day Shall Come
**The Day Shall Come** is a 2019 political satire film directed by Christopher Morris and co-written with [Jesse Armstrong](https://www.edgepedia.org/jesse-armstrong), in which an impoverished Miami street preacher is covertly funded by the FBI so that agents can manufacture a terrorist arrest. It opens with the title card "Based on a hundred true stories", a reference to real FBI sting operations in which agents created fake domestic terrorist plots and lured unsuspecting citizens into carrying them out.[1](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-day-shall-come-movie-review-2019) • [2](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/the-day-shall-come) It was Morris's first feature since *[Four Lions](https://www.edgepedia.org/four-lions)* (2010).[3](https://www.thewrap.com/ifc-films-nabs-sxsw-satire-the-day-shall-come-with-anna-kendrick-danielle-brooks/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and writers | Christopher Morris, co-written with Jesse Armstrong (*In the Loop*, *Succession*)[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_day_shall_come) |
| Cast | Marchánt Davis (Moses), Anna Kendrick (Kendra Glack), Danielle Brooks (Venus), Denis O'Hare (Andy), Kayvan Novak (Reza), Jim Gaffigan[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_day_shall_come) • [3](https://www.thewrap.com/ifc-films-nabs-sxsw-satire-the-day-shall-come-with-anna-kendrick-danielle-brooks/) |
| Release | Premiered at SXSW 2019; US limited release September 27, 2019; UK release October 11, 2019; distributed by IFC Films[3](https://www.thewrap.com/ifc-films-nabs-sxsw-satire-the-day-shall-come-with-anna-kendrick-danielle-brooks/) • [5](https://ifi.ie/the-day-shall-come/) |
| Runtime | 88 minutes[5](https://ifi.ie/the-day-shall-come/) |
| Critical scores | 64% Tomatometer from 92 reviews and 50% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes; Metascore 70 on Metacritic[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_day_shall_come) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-day-shall-come/critic-reviews/) |
| Box office | $552,033 worldwide, of which $26,972 was domestic and $517,021 from the United Kingdom[7](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt7078658/) |
| Production | See-Saw Films, Film4, BFI Film Fund, Archer Gray, and Riverstone Pictures[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_day_shall_come) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Moses Al Shabaz (Marchánt Davis) leads a small, broke, anti-gun religious commune in Miami, preaching a blend of [Allah](https://www.edgepedia.org/allah), Jesus, and "Black Santa" while trying to resist the gentrification uprooting the poor in south Florida.[8](https://www.independentfilmco.com/films/the-day-shall-come) • [2](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/the-day-shall-come) When he needs cash to save his family from eviction, a Middle Eastern organization offers to fund his dream of overthrowing the US government. The backer is in fact the US government: an ambitious FBI agent, Kendra Glack ([Anna Kendrick](https://www.edgepedia.org/anna-kendrick)), eager to impress her ruthless boss ([Denis O'Hare](https://www.edgepedia.org/denis-ohare)), is running an entrapment scheme designed to turn Moses into an arrestable terrorist and a national security "win". When Moses does not take the bait, Kendra resorts to increasingly outlandish and risky measures.[8](https://www.independentfilmco.com/films/the-day-shall-come)
## Basis in real events
The film's premise reflects documented FBI practices in the years after the [September 11 attacks](https://www.edgepedia.org/september-11-attacks). According to the filmmakers, it is "based on a hundred true stories" of the FBI creating fake domestic terrorist plots, then using large sums of money to lure non-terrorist citizens into carrying them out, ending in arrests and convictions.[2](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/the-day-shall-come) The Los Angeles Times reviewer Robert Abele, an American film critic, noted that Morris and Armstrong did not invent sting-crazed law enforcement willing to fund an attack on their own government for arrest wins; the targets come from research into real cases in the war on terror.[9](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2019-09-25/day-shall-come-review-chris-morris-terrorism-satire) One cited real precedent is the Liberty City Seven case.[10](https://www.netflixmovies.com/the-day-shall-come-2019) [Keele University](https://www.edgepedia.org/keele-university) film scholar Maria Flood described the film as aiming to bring public attention to the FBI's reported practice of grooming, then aiding and abetting, potential "terrorists", in a scenario where the agency supplies money, weapons, and even fake nuclear armaments to targeted suspects.[11](https://www.keele.ac.uk/discover/news/2019/september/the-day-shall-come/film-review.php)
## Reception
**Critical response was broadly favorable.** On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 64% Tomatometer from 92 reviews, with the site's critics consensus calling it "absurd yet anchored in knotty real-world themes"; audience approval was lower, at 50% on the Popcornmeter.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_day_shall_come) On Metacritic it scored 70, from 18 positive and 3 mixed reviews with none negative.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-day-shall-come/critic-reviews/)
Reviewers praised the satire's bite while differing on its success. The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw called it an intriguing if slight satire about FBI agents yearning for a big terrorist score.[12](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/oct/11/the-day-shall-come-review-chris-morris-anna-kendrick-war-on-terror) The Los Angeles Times described it as a "rolling theater of racially targeted, manufactured peril" that is brilliantly funny before its farce turns unfunny by design.[9](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2019-09-25/day-shall-come-review-chris-morris-terrorism-satire) The Independent's Clarisse Loughrey found it a strangely muted return that never quite digs into the FBI's behind-the-scenes machinations.[13](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/the-day-shall-come-review-comedy-chris-morris-anna-kendrick-cast-a9148176.html) [The Irish Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-irish-times)'s Donald Clarke was most negative, calling it the first out-and-out dud of Morris's career.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_day_shall_come)
## Commercial performance
The film earned $552,033 worldwide, with 95.1% of that total from international markets, chiefly a $517,021 UK gross; its domestic total was $26,972 on an opening of $14,854.[7](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt7078658/) It later streamed on AMC+ and became available for digital purchase and rental on platforms including Apple TV, Amazon Video, and BFI Player.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_day_shall_come) • [14](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/the-day-shall-come)
## Context in Chris Morris's career
Christopher Morris is a British satirist known for the television series *The Day Today* and *Brass Eye* and for the 2010 feature *Four Lions*, a comedy about hapless would-be suicide bombers.[5](https://ifi.ie/the-day-shall-come/) *The Day Shall Come* inverts that film's perspective: where *Four Lions* followed the terrorists, this film follows the law enforcement machinery that manufactures them.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_day_shall_come) Between the two features Morris directed episodes of the US political comedy *Veep*.[13](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/the-day-shall-come-review-comedy-chris-morris-anna-kendrick-cast-a9148176.html)
## References
1. [The Day Shall Come movie review, RogerEbert.com (Tomris Laffly, 2019)](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-day-shall-come-movie-review-2019)
2. [The Day Shall Come Parents' Guide, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/the-day-shall-come)
3. [IFC Films Nabs SXSW Satire 'The Day Shall Come', TheWrap (2019)](https://www.thewrap.com/ifc-films-nabs-sxsw-satire-the-day-shall-come-with-anna-kendrick-danielle-brooks/)
4. [The Day Shall Come, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_day_shall_come)
5. [The Day Shall Come, Irish Film Institute](https://ifi.ie/the-day-shall-come/)
6. [The Day Shall Come critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-day-shall-come/critic-reviews/)
7. [The Day Shall Come, Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt7078658/)
8. [The Day Shall Come, Independent Film Company](https://www.independentfilmco.com/films/the-day-shall-come)
9. [Chris Morris' 'The Day Shall Come' mines security threats and counterterrorism for laughs, Los Angeles Times (Robert Abele, 2019)](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2019-09-25/day-shall-come-review-chris-morris-terrorism-satire)
10. [The Day Shall Come (2019), NetflixMovies.com](https://www.netflixmovies.com/the-day-shall-come-2019)
11. [The Day Shall Come: penetrating yet poignant Chris Morris romp through the war on terror, Keele University (Maria Flood, 2019)](https://www.keele.ac.uk/discover/news/2019/september/the-day-shall-come/film-review.php)
12. [The Day Shall Come review, The Guardian (Peter Bradshaw, 2019)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/oct/11/the-day-shall-come-review-chris-morris-anna-kendrick-war-on-terror)
13. [The Day Shall Come review: A strangely muted return from Chris Morris, The Independent (Clarisse Loughrey, 2019)](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/the-day-shall-come-review-comedy-chris-morris-anna-kendrick-cast-a9148176.html)
14. [The Day Shall Come streaming options, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/the-day-shall-come)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2019 to 2020 › Released in 2019*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license