4.5/5 Beasts of No Nation Back in 2013, the Emmy ceremony was aglow with House of Cards, what with it being the first awards-worthy series to come out of the streaming game. Next year’s Oscar’s will be similar, because Netflix has just released Beasts of No Nation, a roaring monster of a movie that is sure to be one of the year’s best. The main theater chains have refused to show the film; it’s their loss. To keep such an important film off the big screen is a crime. See it for free (Netflix’s $9.99/month, I mean) if you don’t live in a big city. Just see it. The harrowing story centers around Agu (Abraham Attah, a remarkable non-actor), who becomes a rebel soldier after the military of his unnamed African country murders his whole family. Though he is inspired to help by the promise of vengeance, “forcibly enlisted” may be a better way to put the beginning of his service. In charge of this group is a man named Commandant (Idris Elba, awards worthy), a man often pictured from an upward angle to give human larger than life feel. Commandant rules his army of adolescents and children through fear, violence, and, in a particularly disturbing scene, sexual submission. The abusive, emotionally complex relationship dynamic between Agu and Commandant is one of the film’s greatest assets, but it’s something much simpler that ends up reaping the most dividends. | Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga Starring: Abraham Attah, Idris Elba Writer: Cary Joji Fukunaga |
Agu’s narration, which shows up sporadically throughout the film as he hits substantial dramatic and traumatic touchstones, winds up being the true core that makes this meal so satisfying. In a film filled with such visual virtuosity - Fukunaga's cinematography is perfect to the T - and inventiveness, it’s funny to think that the most affective aspect is the narration, a trope that could have toppled the film over into generic sentimentality. The device is used just seldom enough that it never gets annoying. We only hear it in the beginning when Agu is introducing us to his family and after he begins to commit increasingly heinous crimes to humanity. From needless violence to murder to everything in between, we hear Agu grow more and more distraught and emotionally lost. Unbelieving of the madness that has become his life, he asks God if he’s even still watching. By the way Attah delivers the prayer, you cannot tell what he wants. God’s attention and his help? Is he too ashamed to show his face to the almighty?
Attah is so good in Beasts of No Nation that you almost see right through him and never appreciate him. He is that convincing as Agu. When a woman tries to help him near the end of the film, Agu simply cannot relate or believe in her. Listening to her comforting words, he states (and I’m paraphrasing) that he sees her as a young girl, innocent of the mad world through the bush, and himself as an old man. He may technically be the child in the room, but he has lived a life with more horror than she could ever imagine. I cannot think of another child actor that could have pulled that scene off the way Abraham Attah did. Fukunaga lucked up big time finding this kid. If all goes as it should, this kid deserves some gold trophies on his mantle.
The same goes for Elba in the Supporting Actor category. I actually think it’s more likely that he will walk away with more of the films attention. His greater celebrity certainly helps, but that is not the only reason. If Elba is getting attention, it’s because he deserves every kind word that’s been written. How can such a monstrous warlord deserve any of our sympathy? Who knows, but the British actor manages to pull it off easily. Commandant isn’t a relatable or even likable character by any means, but he feels like an authentic character through and through.
Kudos to Fukunaga for writing, directing, and shooting a story with this kind of authenticity. After his game-changing direction on True Detective season 1, it seemed almost impossible for him to live up to that hype. Sure, Beasts is not quite THAT powerful, but it sure packs one hell of a punch and feels like something you have never seen before. It’s nice to know someone came out of that series on top. Sorry Pizzolatto, but season 2 was one of the most disappointing seasons of television I have seen in my life. Turns out, Fukunaga was paramount to that project. Thankfully, his latest film feels just as paramount. Like I said earlier, just see it.
Attah is so good in Beasts of No Nation that you almost see right through him and never appreciate him. He is that convincing as Agu. When a woman tries to help him near the end of the film, Agu simply cannot relate or believe in her. Listening to her comforting words, he states (and I’m paraphrasing) that he sees her as a young girl, innocent of the mad world through the bush, and himself as an old man. He may technically be the child in the room, but he has lived a life with more horror than she could ever imagine. I cannot think of another child actor that could have pulled that scene off the way Abraham Attah did. Fukunaga lucked up big time finding this kid. If all goes as it should, this kid deserves some gold trophies on his mantle.
The same goes for Elba in the Supporting Actor category. I actually think it’s more likely that he will walk away with more of the films attention. His greater celebrity certainly helps, but that is not the only reason. If Elba is getting attention, it’s because he deserves every kind word that’s been written. How can such a monstrous warlord deserve any of our sympathy? Who knows, but the British actor manages to pull it off easily. Commandant isn’t a relatable or even likable character by any means, but he feels like an authentic character through and through.
Kudos to Fukunaga for writing, directing, and shooting a story with this kind of authenticity. After his game-changing direction on True Detective season 1, it seemed almost impossible for him to live up to that hype. Sure, Beasts is not quite THAT powerful, but it sure packs one hell of a punch and feels like something you have never seen before. It’s nice to know someone came out of that series on top. Sorry Pizzolatto, but season 2 was one of the most disappointing seasons of television I have seen in my life. Turns out, Fukunaga was paramount to that project. Thankfully, his latest film feels just as paramount. Like I said earlier, just see it.