Beasts of No Nation is a difficult film to process. Based on the 2005 Uzodinma Iweala novel of the same name, the film follows a West African boy named Agu (Abraham Attah) whose life is violently upended by civil war and who is subsequently forced to become a soldier for a terrifying warlord called The Commandant (Idris Elba).
Beasts of No Nation’s success comes from its visuals. Whether it’s a shot of Agu desperately trying to hold on to his mother’s hand as he’s ripped away from her or the world turning purple as Agu feels the effects of drugs in his system, the film creates powerful images that instantly connect the audience to Agu’s emotional state.
The film also boasts dynamic performances from Abraham Attah and Idris Elba. This is Attah’s first acting role but his inexperience is irrelevant; he’s a natural. Attah shows Agu’s transformation from innocent to damned with incredible subtlety and nuance. A particular standout is a scene in which Agu joyfully embraces a woman he mistakes for his mother. Once he realizes his error, that joyful embrace turns into a frightening dismissal.
Elba is a seasoned actor but has never had a role quite like The Commandant. He’s both protector and predator, and Elba switches between both roles effortlessly. The Commandant is larger than life but Elba grounds him and makes him a more menacing figure, because he’s all too human. The Commandant never feels more dangerous than when his dominance is undercut by an authority figure and he lashes out in near-petulant anger.
Beasts of No Nation falters when it becomes too enamored with The Commandant and loses sight of Agu. Throughout the film, there’s an unnecessary voiceover from Agu that only seems to exist to fill in the gaps in his arc.
Another issue with Beasts of No Nation is, admittedly, personal. My parents are immigrants from Zambia, so I’m sensitive to portrayals of Africa in film. Beasts of No Nation is beautifully directed and well acted but it’s also yet another mainstream film about war in Africa. It’s not the film’s fault that the media’s representation of Africa is so poor, but it still saddens me that so many people’s first exposure to West African culture (specifically Ghanaian) will be associated with horrific violence and war.
This would be less affecting if Beasts of No Nation was saying something that hasn’t been said before, but it doesn’t. It’s a beautiful film that tells an empathetic story of a boy transformed by war, but lacks any deeper meaning.
