Movie Reviews by Edwin Jahiel

MISTER JOHNSON (1991)

In 1923, and in a remote area of Nigeria, then a British colony, Mister Johnson (an excellent Maynard Eziashi) is a go-getter who genuinely adores and identifies with all things British, and at the same time cleverly uses the British colonials to improve his status.

But he is also naive, spontaneous, caught between two worlds and with his own notions of honesty. The result is a series of ups and downs and an ending I will not disclose. Taken from a novel by Joyce Cary, of necessity, simplified. I read it long ago but I believe that the film does it as much justice as possible, retains the spirit, the humor and the poignancy. Also in cast Pierce Brosnan and a top-notch Edward Woodward, almost unrecognizable as a low-class jingoist, racist yet friendly shopkeeper. Although directed by the excellent Australian (then international) Bruce Beresford (³Driving Miss Daisy²) this sensitive film had minimal circulation and was critically underrated. (Edwin Jahiel)