Agu (Attah), the protagonist and sometimes
narrator of Beasts of No Nation is
just coming of age when a civil war reaches his village in West Africa,
signifying that his carefree childhood days are over, unbeknownst to him. In a wrenching parting his mother and
younger siblings are sent to a place of safety, and in the shooting melee that
follows, Agu loses his father and brother. He runs into the bush for hours then is set upon by a group
of guerilla fighters. Hoping desperately to belong to a
“family” again, he goes through the initiation rites and becomes a fighter
under the watchful eye of the Commandant (Elba) who repeatedly tests his
bravery and loyalty, and a father-son relationship soon evolves.
Talented writer-director Cary Joji Fukunaga (Sin Nombre, Jane Eyre, True Detective)
has taken the story from a novel written by Uzodinma Iweala, a prize-winning
young American writer. The
creative artistry simply oozes out of these works, including Fukunaga’s
stunning cinematography. Their
depiction of a young boy’s experience of being yanked out of his intact
Christian family and thrown into a seemingly endless testosterone infused
life-threatening physical and mentally taxing struggle completely drains him
after so many battles and towards the end a major turn of events for the troop. He comes to the conclusion that “The
only way not to be fighting any more is to be dying.”
A strong point of the film is its
representation of childhood as fanciful and imaginative (e.g., Agu and friends
taking the frame off his father’s television, demonstrating its 3D effect by
putting their own antics behind the empty space for the viewer in front, and
hawking it as “imaginative TV.”) sincere, and loving; and how, along with
thoughtful parental influence, real life experiences mold the adult’s
character. The picture is so
vivid, one can almost “see” the psychological scars left upon this child, who
nevertheless appears to be quite capable of processing it and figuring it all
out. Especially moving is the last
scene with children playing happily and boisterously in the ocean, a coda that
repeats one of the first scenes in an earlier place and time.
Although he is apparently new to the acting
scene, Abraham Attah carries his role like a pro with naturalness and
convincing emotional expression.
Two of the most revealing are his turmoil when confronted with brutally
killing someone the first time and at the end when he is ruminating on his life
so far and wondering what his future will be.
This is probably one of Idris Elba’s meatiest
roles in that he is such a central figure and it allows his strengths full
rein. He is well regarded as an
actor, particularly as Nelson Mandela in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and as Luther in the TV series, and he is
likely to be nominated for awards in this performance. The Commandant leads his troop in Hitler-like
fashion, demanding a worshipful allegiance to him and dispensing favors
selectively. The only time he is
shown to be the least bit vulnerable is in his narcissistic feelings toward
Agu.
Beasts of
No Nation has already been nominated for awards at the London and Venice
Film Festivals, and there will probably be more coming up. Fukunaga, Attah, and Elba would all be
deserving of consideration.
Inspiring film about childhood heroism with stunning
cinematography.
Grade: A By
Donna R. Copeland
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