Shadows on the Wall | The Woman King

The Woman King

dir Gina Prince-Bythewood
scr Dana Stevens
prd Cathy Schulman, Viola Davis, Julius Tennon, Maria Bello
with Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, John Boyega, Jimmy Odukoya, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Jordan Bolger, Jayme Lawson, Masali Baduza, Adrienne Warren, Chioma Umeala
release US 16.Sep.22,
UK 7.Oct.22
22/US TriStar 2h15

TORONTO FILM FEST

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Based on real events from 19th century West Africa, this warrior epic carries the weight of history, even if the script is obvious and the filmmaking is sometimes cheesy. At its core, this is a movie about the human struggle for power in a place where women have claimed theirs. This makes it rousing even when it dodges authenticity. And underneath that, a superbly played personal drama catches the heart.

In 1823 Dahomey, King Ghezo (Boyega) relies on the Agojie, his fierce all-female warrior unit, to defend the kingdom. General Nanisca (Davis) and her lieutenants Izogie and Amenza (Lynch and Atim) currently have their eye on marauding Oyo leader Oba (Odukoya), who like Dahomey sells captives as slaves to European traders. Thrown out by her family, 19-year-old Nawi (Mbedu) is a new Agojie recruit with unusual determination. While her maverick attitude creates problems, she also proves to be an ingenious addition to the team, developing pointed connections with both Izogie and Nanisca herself.

Stevens' script spins the facts into a fantasy that sidesteps Dahomey's thornier truths, from mass human sacrifices and female genital mutilation to its leading role in the slave trade. While they look great, the costumes are oddly compromised (the warriors certainly didn't wear drawstring surf shorts), while flat cinematography makes little of sets or locations. Director Prince-Blythewood pointedly avoids anything more than a hint of sexuality, then skilfully stages visceral action sequences that put the viewer in the middle of the grisliness.

A storming Davis deploys her physical and emotional power in each scene, connecting Nanisca vividly to other characters. Her taut performance ripples with resonant undercurrents that make the plot's over-pointed twists feel meaningful. Mbedi is also excellent in the plot's plucky central role, but the ensemble's standouts are Lynch and Boyega, who bring dazzling inner strength to roles as a relentless warrior and thoughtful-but-mercurial ruler.

While this film is about as faithful to history as Braveheart, it's also just as much fun to watch, letting us cheer for the good guys, boo the baddies and root for those in between to make the right choices. Two Brazilian traders (Tiffin and Bolger) offer some intrigue in the middle, and the possibility of some steaminess too, although both the writing and direction resist making the most of them. We may want a grittier, more truthful take on this story. But this movie's true strength is in what says about the importance of female power today.

themes, violence 20.Sep.22

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