“Shoot the Messenger” follows one man’s painful journey towards self-discovery. On the way, he finds both his own attitudes and the expectations of his community challenged.
When Joe (David Oyelowo), a High School teacher in South London, is accused of assaulting one of his students, his life takes a turn for the worst. As a man who has dedicated himself to helping the advancement of black students, he becomes an enemy within the community. After the story becomes a media frenzy he spirals into a deep depression, developing not only hatred for himself but his own race. It’s after he meets a woman named Heather (Nikki Amuka-Bird) who not only challenges his beliefs but forces him to take a good look at himself, he begins to ponder what role he plays in society and his own community as a black man.
This film was released in 2006 and I have no idea why I didn’t discover it sooner. I thought Director Ngozi Onwurah did an excellent job of bringing such deep and triggering issues into one film rarely brought out into the open. Discussion about race, self-hate, responsibility within your own community, and the struggle of coming to terms with who you are, is blatantly brought to the surface. This film is honest, a bit shocking, and definitely worth seeing.
“Shoot the Messenger” recently screened at the New York African Film Festival and is available on Video-On-Demand
