Review- Beasts of No Nation (2015)

Directed by: Cary Fukunaga

Written by: Cary Fukunaga

Starring: Abraham Attah, Idris Elba

Synopsis: As civil war rages in Africa, a fierce warlord (Idris Elba) trains a young orphan (Abraham Attah) to join his group of guerrilla soldiers.

War movies usually follow the same themes. War can do things to a person. War is nasty and unkind. It's common, we've seen it a lot since Apocalypse Now. So when I watch a war movie now, I don't need to think about what the film is trying to tell me, but how effective it is at telling me. Beasts of No Nation does it perfectly. No movie has shown the horrors of war in such a way since Saving Private Ryan. This movie is emotional and tense, and it's unforgiving in its portrayal of the modern wars of Africa. The war is fictional and the country is unnamed (some might compare this to the offensive No Escape, but it really isn't), but the themes ring true and the situations our main character, a child named Agu played wonderfully by Ghanian actor Abraham Attah, faces have and do happen to real people. Agu ends up being the perfect way to show the audience what war is.

Along with Abraham Attah, all the child actors are great in this movie. Nothing feels like acting, it feels real. Idris Elba deserves to win an Oscar for his performance as the Commandant, a cult leader-like soldier who picks up children and forces them into his battalion. The character is incredibly well acted and incredibly well written.This whole movie, including the character of Agu, is incredibly well written. It's based off of a novel by the same name written by author Uzodinma Iweala, which I've never read, but I believe it must have been adapted well.

This movie also looks amazing for a 6 million dollar movie. I don't know how Cary Fukunaga did it. If you look at the list of producers and small production companies involved, you can tell this movie wasn't brought up the usual way. A lot of people came to help raise the budget for this movie. I think people saw the potential and genuinely wanted to help make a fantastic piece of art. Thanks to Fukanaga, we got that piece of art. Cinematography is gorgeous, color grading is appropriate and natural, and there are no major CGI shots. There are helicopters and explosions and villages, and nothing at any time feels cheap. Not even 150 million dollar movies can do that.

Talking about this movie not being made the usual way, I have a feeling this movie is going to be largely ignored by the academy because Neflix is behind it. It deserves to be nominated for Best Picture to be honest, and I'll be surprised if it's nominated for anything at all. Releasing a movie the same day it's available for streaming is a controversial idea and it budding heads with movie theater companies. Regardless of the politics of Netflix and movie theaters though, it's hard to ignore that this is a phenomenal film.

I'd highly recommend this movie to anyone and everyone. It's the best 2015 movie I've seen. It's dark and may make those who aren't use to violence in movies queasy, but that's the point and you should endure it. I have no criticisms, only praise.

9.5/10