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First, the Recap:
Existing in the core of disruption. All we are accustomed to has suddenly been torn away, placed on hold, confined to stifling restriction. Finding ourselves within this sphere, all is only made worse when the consequences of it end up causing us to experience devastating loss on top of a scandal that mars our trust of those in power, creating a vacuum of anguish and hate that seems to have ONE potential resolution. Period. It is the heart of a global pandemic called COVID-19, London, U.K., where Kaz (Shadrach Agozino) is a man already pushed FAR over the edge. Living in virtual squalor and reeling from bereavement, his mind has a single objective burning within it–kill the man he holds responsible for his agony, PM Boris Johnson. Kaz’s friend Maia (Jesse Akele) does everything she can to reach him, but in the haze of madness, is there truly any coming back?
Next, My Mind:
The backdrop of two crippling events, the world outbreak of COVID-19 with its accompanying lockdowns and the U.K.-centric government scandal that will be forever known as “Partygate”, forms the foundational basis for arguably one of the most daringly unapologetic, jarringly provocative, undeniably fearless explorations of one man’s journey through an all-encompassing emotional meltdown fueled by the potent combination of heartrending loss and relentless questioning of a political responsibility. This 24-minute short film from writer/director Musa Alderson-Clarke and producer Solomon Golding punches you square in the jaw from start to finish, barely leaving you room to breathe thanks to intentionally frenetic pacing, visceral imagery, and a no-holds-barred glimpse into the seriousness of mental health and governmental accountability, the raising of better and definitively more awareness for both evident, relevant, and necessary. One can only imagine the splash this made when it screened recently at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.
The narrative focused on one working class Londoner’s total collapse into dark depression and radical choices thanks to a mixture of being in the heart of the COVID-19 lockdowns, a beyond disheartening magnitude of grief, and a now HIGHLY elevated disdain for the powers that be running the country, quickly establishes itself as an uncompromising descent into the nucleus of a deeply fractured mind that is both horrifying in its sheer ferocity of intent yet unequivocally moving in the portrait of completely understood lament and brokenness of soul being portrayed. It was evident during the prime times of lockdown protocols during COVID-19 that mental well-being took center stage in a whole new manner, with the weight of separation/isolation causing blatant issues within us as social beings to begin with, much less when it came to family and our ability to interact with them in time of desperate need. How this films depicts this particular facet of existence during the pandemic is as utterly tragic as it is poignant. Obviously, this is NOT a happy tale in ANY stretch of the imagination, and the film makes no bones about that fact during its runtime.
The birthing of seething hatred, creation of manifesto, self-inflicted pain, burdens of errantly perceived vs. actual blame, symbols of our pain, influence of undying devotion and love being interrupted, dominating power of recollection and treasured memory, single-minded focus that refuses to accept any other perspective, and the unadulterated vehemence of sought-after release and resolution all find their time to be revealed and considered throughout the course of the story, and it all ultimately initiates a finale that detonates with the force of an atomic bomb, the ripple effect resonating forcefully and heavily, jolting you as the viewer with a degree of irrevocable impact that, needless to say, lingers with you. Looking at this in a grander overall viewpoint, what gives this film such incredible applicability IS the fact that regardless of the circumstances, both personal and governmental culpability for actions chosen during times of overt stress, proven OR otherwise, NEED to be taken MORE SERIOUSLY and held to a standard that ensures SOLUTIONS and recognition of HOW things affect us as human beings instead of treating it too casually, much less covering it up, in the context of those we’re supposed to trust to lead us through harsh realities.
Agozino, for this critic, is an indisputable force of nature here, delivering one amazing masterpiece of a performance though his lead role as Kaz, a regular guy pushed well beyond the precipice of sanity when he finds himself not only battling the already present hardship of COVID-19 lockdown rules in London, but also crumbling under agonizing mourning and the raging anger exploding within towards the one person he condemns for it all. With a dimension of purpose that drives his anger holding him firmly in its grasp, again both understandably yet sadly, Kaz hatches his plan for vengeance with no remorse or hesitation as his mental faculties continue to deteriorate beyond any logical reason, and even in spite of the pleas of a concerned sister who makes every effort she can to reach him in his harried state of being. To have to embody this amount of unhinged demeanor, the MINDSET of it, much less maintain this throughout the whole film, is one profoundly executed feat to me, and watching how realistically, fervently, and passionately Agozino takes this on is such a testament to the actor’s skills, as the emotional volatility displayed is simply magnificent and so crushingly credible to witness.
The primary supporting role arrives through Akele as Kaz’s friend Maia who only wishes to see her friend back, doggedly trying to do everything she can to coax him out of his apartment, to just TALK things out, without even realizing the total extent of what he has been planning. Akele infuses Maia with this grounded believability and genuine, firm, but lovingly concerned sentiment that acts as such an evident, though unsuccessful, foil to Kaz’s burning discontent, and this dichotomy works well in the interactions we see between them. Additional supporting appearances are made by Peakey Saku as Luke, a local gangster within whom Kaz finds it necessary to connect with during his plotting, Cathy Owen as Kaz’s mother whose own story IS the primary catalyst for all we watch unfold, Robert Dukes as Kaz’s boss Oliver, and Rebecca Raybone as a local teacher who has a tense run-in with the unstable Kaz.
So, in total, “Killing Boris Johnson” is truly a defiantly unsettling, politically and socially-charged portrait of both shattering desolation and governmental faltering that speaks to the indisputable necessity of MUCH better integrity on the part of our national leaders during major crisis (or at ANY time, actually) and likewise the importance of acknowledging just HOW damaging severe change in what we see as the norm can cause tangible mental wellness issues that cannot be ignored. This time we’ve been existing in thanks to COVID-19 has forever changed our world, for good and ill, and it’s even more reason why we need to find a newly emerging unity amongst us as people if we’re to NOT see more of what’s shown in this film actually come to pass.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
