A Good Man in Africa is a 1994 comedy-drama film, based on William Boyd's 1981 novel A Good Man in Africa and directed by Bruce Beresford. The film starred Colin Friels, Sean Connery, John Lithgow, Joanne Whalley, Diana Rigg and Louis Gossett Jr.[1][2]
| A Good Man in Africa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Bruce Beresford |
| Screenplay by | William Boyd |
| Based on | A Good Man in Africa by William Boyd |
| Produced by | John Fiedler Mark Tarlov Bruce Beresford |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Andrzej Bartkowiak |
| Edited by | Jim Clark |
| Music by | John Du Prez |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Gramercy Pictures (United States) United International Pictures (United Kingdom) |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 94 min |
| Countries | United States United Kingdom South Africa |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $20 million |
| Box office | $2,308,390 |
Plot
editMorgan Leafy is a British diplomat living in Kinjanja, an African nation which has recently become independent from British rule. Arthur Fanshawe, a new diplomat eager to leave Africa, learns that Kinjanja sits on top of a huge oil reserve. Unfortunately, Morgan is too preoccupied with alcohol and women to know what to do with the oil. To make matters worse, a woman is struck by lightning on the British compound, creating a tense political situation with the Kinjanja government.
Cast
edit- Colin Friels as Morgan Leafy
- Sean Connery as Dr. Alex Murray
- John Lithgow as Arthur Fanshawe
- Diana Rigg as Chloe Fanshawe
- Louis Gossett Jr. as Prof. Sam Adekunle
- Joanne Whalley as Celia Adekunle
- Sarah-Jane Fenton as Priscilla Fanshawe
- Maynard Eziashi[3] as Friday, Leafy's Houseman
Reception
editThe movie received mixed to poor reviews. Roger Ebert said that he felt uncomfortable during the film but praised the performances of Connery, Lithgow and Gossett.[4] Hal Hinson of The Washington Post said that although the film "held the possibility of being a welcome departure from the ordinary [...] ordinary is what it rises to at its best."[5] Janet Maslin of The New York Times opined that "a good book is the basis for "A Good Man in Africa," but its mordant humor has curdled badly on the screen," adding:
Although William Boyd, the author of these gimlet-eyed observations of colonial antics in Africa, adapted his own novel and also served as one of the film's producers, "A Good Man in Africa" now has none of the cunning that it had on the page.[6]
The film's director, Bruce Beresford, did not remember the film fondly:
God, that was horrible. That was the worst film experience I ever had. It was cast wrong, the crew was all strange. We were filming in the wrong place. We filmed in South Africa, it was set in West Africa. Which is like shooting in Alaska when it’s set in New Orleans. And I realized that although the novel that it’s based on is terribly funny, it was very anecdotal. It had no narrative. I think on about the second day I realized it was never going to work, because the scenes don’t link. I thought, “I’m sunk! I’m never gonna get out.”[7]
DVD release
editFocus Features released an Amazon.com exclusive DVD of the film on 11 January 2010.
References
edit- ^ Kraft, Scott (1993-05-30). "MOVIES : South Africa, Take 2 : What happens when Bruce Beresford brings 'A Good Man in Africa' to the country as the first post-cultural embargo film". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-06-10.
- ^ Clark, John (1994-09-18). "PAGE TO SCREEN : Boyd's Good Man". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
- ^ Onikoyi, Ayo (2012-01-22). "Nollywood is doing fabulously well, says Nigerian Hollywood star". Vanguard. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- ^ "A Good Man in Africa". Chicago Sun-Times. 1994-09-09. Retrieved 2021-09-20.
- ^ "A Good Man in Africa". The Washington Post. 1994-09-09. Retrieved 2012-06-03.
- ^ Maslin, Janet (1994-09-09). "FILM REVIEW; Of Colonials in Africa And Insults That Insult". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-06-03.
- ^ "Driving Miss Daisy Director Bruce Beresford on Aussie Cinema, Powerless Characters, and His Worst Film Experience". Vulture. 23 September 2015.