Before there was Wonder Woman's Amazons or Black Panther's Dora Milaje, there was the Agojie. Far from fantasy, these female warriors were a real-life West African regiment that defended the kingdom of Dahomey for centuries against warring neighbors and foreign slavers. With The Woman King, director Gina Prince-Bythewood brings a slice of their legacy to vivid life, creating a historical epic driven by exhilarating action sequences, charming humor, and great heart.
Screenwriter Dana Stevens and story contributor Maria Bello narrow the centuries of Agojie excellence to a window in the 1800s and the stories of four incredible women. Viola Davis headlines as General Nanisca, whose fight to take down the slave trade is complicated when trauma from her past resurfaces. By her side is Amenza (Sheila Atim), a captive turned soldier who serves as a spiritual guide among her sisters in arms. New to the crew is Nawi (Thuso Mbedu), a headstrong recruit who begrudgingly accepts guidance from Izogie (Lashana Lynch), a charismatic lieutenant whose favorite tools are real talk and fingernails sharpened into eye-bursting talons. Together, they stand not only against fearsome fighters but also against the sexist double standards of their complacent kingdom.
Viola Davis delivers a career-best performance in a groundbreaking role.
For nearly a century, war movies made in America have almost religiously centered on the stories of white men sacrificing life and limb in tribute to their country or ideals. In her speech ahead of The Woman King's World Premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, Davis addressed directly how she was an unlikely lead for a war movie. As a dark-skinned Black woman of 57, her casting pushes back on colorism, racism, sexism, and ageism that is prevalent in Hollywood. Getting this movie made in such an environment is an accomplishment on its own. But beyond that, Davis has given a performance that is sure to be remembered among her absolute greatest.
Intense physical training has transformed her body into resolute muscle accentuated by the palm oil strategically applied to make the Agojie hard to pin down. In The Woman King's awe-striking opening sequence, Nanisca — followed by her soldiers — surfaces silently and sleekly from a sea of tall grass, stealthy like the leopard from which their people are storied to have descended, and glistening in the moonlight like something supernatural. They are beautiful. They are powerful. But they are not beyond human heartbreak.
In scenes of war, Davis has the cool confidence of a James Bond, completing hand-to-hand combat and no-look weapons passes with enthralling ease. However, Nanisca must also face confrontations of political intrigue, petty grievances, and personal devastation. Opposite John Boyega as ruling King Ghezo, she is patient and firm, with an edge of placation. (Even this advocate for the Agojie demands cajoling, be it from his many wives or his warriors.) In intimate scenes where Nanisca's stony exterior crumbles, Davis pours out her vulnerability like water. Whether she's fighting back tears or the formidable Oyo warriors, she is mesmerizing.
Thuso Mbedu gives a star-making turn as a fierce rookie warrior.
Making her mark in television shows like Shuga and The Underground Railroad, Mbedu is a revelation in The Woman King. A rebellious daughter who is tossed to the Agojie once her father fails to marry her off, Nawi possesses strength and spirit that makes her a gift and a burden for her commanders. Within her plotline, Prince-Bythewood and Stevens introduce a generational conflict about the role of women in their kingdom. Specifically, Nawi's romantic interest in a dashing European visitor (Jordan Bolger) sparks her to question the commanded celibacy of the Agojie.
With an expressive countenance and a sharp delivery, Mbedu stands up to the star power of Davis, with whom she collides in several suspenseful scenes. The romance subplot is frustratingly flimsy, with a thinly sketched would-be beau and a hesitancy to explore the true cost of the sacrifices required of the Agojie, when the film leans so hard into glamorizing them. Or perhaps the problem is that Nawi has a far greater chemistry with her mentor. As Izogie, Lashana Lynch (No Time to Die, Captain Marvel) is winsome yet stern, delivering life lessons with a wink and a hard shove. With a sublime smile and a steady gaze, she makes a meal of close-ups, welcoming audiences into the Black excellence and alluring fantasy of joining this sisterhood of warriors, loyal and divine.
For her part as Nanisca's confidante, Amenza, Sheila Atim brings further complexity to the balance of these characters as both women and warriors. In each role, there is strength and suffering, the latter often sprung from sexist treatment, gendered violence, or the indignities born to women through patriarchal constraints. But also within each is a spark, making them uniquely realized heroines. So Atim's Amenza is not just a sage or a shoulder to cry on; she's a mirthful guide, welling with compassion and sincerity...and just a bit of rage. Altogether, they weave a gorgeous tapestry of emotion, experience, and resilience.
The Woman King has jaw-dropping action.
Like she did with The Old Guard, director Gina Prince-Bythewood has intertwined poignant tales of female experience with distinctive and exciting action sequences. The Woman King paints the Agojie in a romantic light that makes them akin to superheroes, and so the action occasionally has flourishes of the outrageous, like a bit of parkour or a dizzying act of potentially inhuman strength. But I don't go to historical epics looking for reality or accuracy; I go for the cinema and spectacle. And The Woman King delivers.
The focus in these fight scenes is on the skill and determination of the Agojie. As such, Prince-Bythewood rejects the gruesome standard set by war movies that focus intently on onscreen maimings. Here, most of the killing blows are off-camera, punctuated by shrewd sound design. Blood spurts are ribbons, not rivers. The spectacle of violence comes not from the gore but from the extraordinary mastering of the fight choreography, which involves punching hands, tearing fingernails, machetes, knives, and expertly tied rope. This way, when Prince-Bythewood does give a wound a close-up, the impact isn't excitement but shock, and often pain, as it just might involve a warrior we've come to love.
Now, because it is so groundbreaking,The Woman King is faced with unfair obstacles. A film that centers Black women stands out in a sea of whiteness and male stories, and so bears a heavy burden of representation. One movie can not be all things that might define a time, a place, or a people. In its wobbles over romance and even its portrayal of its inconstant king, this historical epic struggles with how much it might take on in its runtime. For how much focus should be put on the flaws of men, when this is a film about history-making women? The balance is a battle with no clear winner.
Nonetheless, Gina Prince-Bythewood has once more created an astonishing action movie, which dazzles with ferocious fight sequences but hits hardest because of its heartfelt storytelling. Sheila Atim and Lashana Lynch bring plenty of charm to their superb supporting turns, and Thuso Mbedu takes her place as an ingenue to watch. Viola Davis gives a complicated and compelling performance that should lead to another Oscar nomination. Altogether, they've made The Woman King radical, radiant, and riveting.
The Woman King made its World Premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. The movie will open in theaters Sept. 16.
Topics Film
