OCTOBER 22, 2015
Netflix’s new theatrical release “Beasts of No Nation” is a game-changer — not necessarily in the content or execution of the film itself, but in how it’s being released.
The film, which Netflix has arranged to be shown theatrically by Bleeker Street, opened in 31 theaters across the country this week. But because “Beasts of No Nation” is also available to be streamed at home by the 69 million Netflix subscribers anytime, most of the nation’s largest theater chains — AMC, Regal, Carmike and Cinemark — have refused to book the film, thus hindering its theatrical availability. (Netflix’s model differs from video-on-demand in the fact that VOD requires that viewers pay to watch each title, whereas “Beast of No Nation” is included in the monthly Netflix streaming subscription price.)
However for Netflix, a theatrical release for this particular film is a necessity in order to garner both prestige reviews (it is currently rated 90% favorable on Rotten Tomatoes) and eligibility to be considered for Academy Awards, where the film could conceivably compete in several top categories.
Still, “Beasts of No Nation” is a curious choice to be the canary in the coal mine for this awards-play model. It’s a pretty tough film, certainly not one that on its face appears to be Academy friendly. The film deals with the issue of young boys being taken and turned into child soldiers in war-torn Africa, and that troubling subject is presented in the starkest way possible.
Agu (a wonderful young Ghanan actor named Abraham Attah, who is 14 years old, but looks like he’s only 8 or 9 here) is a young boy whose main happiness in life is enjoying family life and playing with his friends. That all changes when a deadly war approaches their village and splits up his family. His mother, sister and baby brother are able to escape, while Agu joins his father, grandfather and older brother in staying behind. The men in the family are all soon slaughtered except for Agu, who is able to escape into the brush. There he is captured by rebels of the Native Defense Force, which is led by their fearsome Commandant.
In walks the Commandant, and “Beasts of No Nation” suddenly kicks into a higher gear, thanks to Idris Elba, who brings to the Commandant all the movie-star swagger than he can provide, which is considerable. Elba has big time charisma — it’s difficult to keep your eyes off him whenever he’s on screen — which is exactly what the Commandant needs to exude as well. He takes Agu under his wing, even referring to him as his “son.”
Agu’s basic training is brutal, as he must put boyish things aside by picking up a gun and becoming unafraid to use it. His training ends with a final test. Agu and his mute best friend Strika (Emmanuel Nii Adom Quaye, very good) stand before a bound prisoner, a grown man pleading for his life, and the boys are each handed a machete and told to execute the groveling captive. What follows is not for the weak of stomach, but the most disturbing part of the scene is that this horrible violence is being perpetrated by little kids, each under age 10.
As is evident, “Beasts of No Nation” is not an easy sit. The film is quite long at 137 minutes — it could easily lose 20 minutes and be much tighter for it. Any sensible moviegoer may ask why one would put oneself through all of this. My answer would be the film’s writer/director Cary Joji Fukunaga. If the name seems vaguely familiar, Fukunaga won the Emmy last year for his direction of every episode of Season 1 of the HBO series “True Detective” (you know, the good season).
Fukunaga effectively creates a sense of tension and dread (given this material, not that hard to do). However, he also takes the time to show the effect that violence has on those who are meting it out, not just on the children but even on the Commandant, who in his own way is victimized by this horrible system. A real sense of sadness pervades the film’s last act, as Agu wonders, if he ever can escape one day, will he be able to go back to being just a boy again, given the horrors that he has seen?
If you’ve ever watched Season 1 of “True Detective,” you may recall that Fukunaga created there a world of striking visual images, and so he does here — he also serves as this film’s cinematographer. It’s a fascinating paradox that a film of such brutality can also contain images of such great beauty. If you’re lucky to be in an area where you can see “Beasts” on the big screen, it’s worth the effort. Fukunaga’s gorgeous images just won’t be the same on your laptop.
Will Netflix’s experiment be a success? It’s too early to tell. Theatrical grosses this week were anemic, but that’s to be expected given the film’s online availability. It all depends on whether Netflix subscribers (and more importantly, Academy voters) are willing to click on, and stay watching, a challenging film experience. If they get those clicks (and a few Oscar nominations), “Beast of No Nation” may begin to change the way we see movies, and that may be its greatest legacy.
GRADE: B
