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Such a frustrating disappointment

Fantastic!

Don't listen to the negative reviews

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Mr Beresford has taken what I consider to be his usual film making approach to this poorly adapted screenplay from an excellent and workable novel. Mr Johnson is NOT a comedy, neither does it rely upon comedic aspects in its story line. Mr Johnson is a drama, sadly robbed of its drivers.The great problem with this film is the miscasting of two leading men, and the inability of the director to accurately shape the story, and to direct the individual performances. the character of Mr Johnson, is lacking in complexity and dimension, and Mr Brosnan's work is rather like a mimicry of every British colonial character ever sent up by any music hall comic or TV sketch comedy ever produced.The basic story is heartrendingly powerful, and the false world of Mr Johnson, fueled by his childlike desire to fulfill its requirements, should be the powerhouse of the whole undercurrent of the madhouse of British Imperialism, and the blind faith of those who attempted to live up to the impossible standards of its, so called, civilization.The novel hits the gong, but this screenplay, the miscasting, the absence of storytelling and of basic theatrical direction, robs Mr Johnson of its magic.

When I bought this item, I really was not aware of what I was dealing with...Except it was a Bruce Beresford film, and also it took place somewhere in Africa, in the beginning of the twentieth century, and starring Pierce Brosnan.During the first half hour, I wondered what the screenplay drove at? I felt some boredom, but fortunately I found the real quality of this vivid story. I won't tell it again, the other comments were fine about it. It's worth watching. The only point I'd like to say it's that the character of Mister Johnson reminds me somewhere TOM HORN's one, starring Steve mac Queen, a man torn between two entities - MacQueen, the landowners who hired him to get rid of the settlers at all costs and the law; and Mister Johnson's actor who hesitates between his own people and the British "masters" he admired so much, these people he wanted so much to be like them, so much he felt himself British inside of him. Two characters who finish crushed at the end, and nearly in the same way. Just because of their convictions and engagement.I don't regret to have watched this film. No folks.

"Mister Johnson" is, first and foremost, a comedy. I must say this, because it's far too light-headed to be a serious dramatic film. Although, whatever the case, I can't say it's the most compelling story. The title character (played by Maynard Eziashi) isn't as sympathetic as the script might intend him to be. He steals, he cheats, he tries his best to be an Englishman, all to much self-detriment.From a artistic standpoint, as well, this is not an especially engaging tale. Bruce Beresford has displayed a lot of subtlety in other films, but there's something about "Mister Johnson" that falls quite flat for me. I wanted to like it, because I nearly always enjoy Beresford's films. In the end, it's the performances by Eziashi and Brosnan that make this worth watching. They create characters you can get into, even though lacking a script that deserves it.

Mister Johnson tells the tale of a young Nigerian man whose dishonesty and desire to please others lead to his downfall. He's lost--thinking he must be British to be a real man, for that is what he hears the British imperialists say. He doesn't understand the intrinsic worth of his African identity, and in his attempt to become more and more British, he loses everything he loves. The plot itself is sad but not entirely original. The movie's charm is in its setting--central Nigeria--and its use of the Pidgin and Hausa from that region. As one who grew up there, I was thrilled with their correct usage of terms and expressions. The cinematography is excellent, and I appreciate the genuineness of the movie itself. Sad but worth watching.