File Name .........................................: Mister Johnson.

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File Size (in bytes) ............................: 730,732,544 bytes
Runtime ............................................: 1:42:13
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Intelligent, sensitively-handled drama (based on Joyce Carey's novel) is set in
West Africa during the days of Britain's empire-building. It features a standout
performance by Maynard Eziashi in the title role as an Nigerian clerk working f
or the British government in the village of Fada. Johnson's eagerness to be acce
pted as an English gentleman by his country's new landlords is a phenomenon obse
rvable in several colonized provinces throughout history. It's also the kind of
compromise that can only lead to misunderstanding from both cultures. The irrepr
essible, entrepreneurial Johnson is a dreamer, who thinks big enough not only to
see himself as a rich, respectable businessman, but also to embrace the ambitio
n of his district officer (Pierce Brosnan) to build a 100-mile road. The complet
ion of the road, which will make the Empire's `civilizing' processes even easier,
tells us that the end of the village's (and Africa's) innocence is nigh. It's th
e kind of imperialism that we instinctively blame for Johnson's downfall - but l
ooking back we can see that the real villain of the film is commerce. Every scra
pe that Johnson gets into is less a result of cultural clash than simple mismana
gement of money, and it's not only the British that he gets into trouble with. T
he opportunistic, ingenuous Johnson is just the type we would expect to fall fou
l of the law, whether native or British, as a matter of course.
Beresford seems to be drawn to assignments set in desolate landscapes, and here
he convincingly transports us to the 1923 colonies. As would be expected, he get
s solid performances from Eziashi, Brosnan (whose repressed character demands he
be underplayed), and Edward Woodward as a local store owner (more memorable her
e than in Beresford's BREAKER MORANT). There are several scenes you'll react to
on an emotional level - the quietly triumphant completion of the road and the un
forgettable final scene are the two most notable examples. The dusky photography
by Peter James suits the film perfectly. Definitely worth your time - critics a
pplauded it even though it sank without a trace at the box office. If it wasn't
for the success of his previous film, DRIVING MISS DAISY, Beresford may never ha
ve been able to convince backers to produce a film featuring an unknown black ac
tor in the lead role. Incidentally, this must be the only film I've seen set in
an African village that doesn't wind up with someone's house burning down.
British East Africa, 1923. Harry Rudbeck, an ambitious army officer, wants to bu
ild a road to bring the outside world to the backwater town where he is posted.
Struggling to find ways around Foreign Service bureaucracy, he relies on his res
ourceful African clerk, Mr. Johnson. But when Johnson's can-do attitude runs afo
ul of British law, Rudbeck must make a painful decision. The film is deliberatel
y paced, and the topnotch cinematography, art direction, and soundtrack all cons
pire to immerse you into the sweltering heat of East Africa. Maynard Eziashi giv
es winning performance as Johnson, a man so intent on becoming important that it
destroys him. Like many of director Bruce Beresford's movies, this is a clear-e
yed look at the way a collision of two cultures can lead to tragedy. Rudbeck mus
t ultimately face the fact that his own ambition leads to the death of his frien
d, and Pierce Brosnan (as Rudbeck) and Beresford refuse to sentimentalize the ma
n at all. Among Beresford's films, this is much closer in tone to Breaker Morant
than to the kinder, gentler Driving Miss Daisy.
Review
Beresford's adaptation of Joyce Cary's novel is an intriguingly problematic tale
of a well educated black man (Eziashi) working for a white magistrate British C
olonial Nigeria. Aspiring to be treated as an equal of the white British around
him, he is neither accepted by them or his fellow natives. His desire to get ahe
ad leads him into trouble. As a character study, the film works well, and there
is a well observed sense of time and place. But issues of race and racism here a
re as vague as they were in Driving Miss Daisy, and you are left with the impres
sion Beresford is happy to dodge the issues he dabbles with.