Idris Elba intimidates in first Beasts of No Nation trailer
I feel a little silly, but when I opened up the teaser trailer for Beasts of No Nation, I was pretty sure I was about to watch the first trailer for the next J.K. Rowling book-turned-movies Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Boy, was I wrong. Instead, Beasts of No Nation is an upcoming Netflix original film framed by civil war in West Africa, and the trailer makes the movie look brutal and unforgiving. Set in a part of the world where child soldiers killing on command isn’t unheard of, directed by True Detective’s Cary Fukanaga, and resting on the shoulders of always-solid actor Idris Elba, this one looks like a must-see.
Watch the first teaser trailer for Beasts of No Nation after the jump.
Not only does the content and talent look intriguing, but Beasts of No Nation is one of the higher profile pictures being produced by Netflix. The company has been shifting in an effort to compete with larger theatrical releases, and it’ll be interesting to see how the movie fares both on Netflix and in theaters when it’s simultaneously released on October 16, 2015.
Beasts of No Nation is based on the novel of the same name by author Uzodinma Iweala, and here’s the plot synopsis pulled from the book’s Amazon page:
Agu, a young boy in an unnamed West African nation, is recruited into a unit of guerrilla fighters as civil war engulfs his country. Haunted by his father’s own death at the hands of militants, which he fled just before witnessing, Agu is vulnerable to the dangerous yet paternal nature of his new commander.
While the war rages on, Agu becomes increasingly divorced from the life he had known before the conflict started — a life of school friends, church services, and time with his family still intact. As he vividly recalls these sunnier times, his daily reality spins further downward into inexplicable brutality, primal fear, and loss of selfhood. His relationship with his commander deepens even as it darkens, and his camaraderie with a fellow soldier lends a deceptive sense of normalcy to his experience.
Abraham Attah is the actor playing Agu, and Idris Elba is billed as the “Commandant.” There’s a good chance we’ll see another trailer for Beasts of No Nation before release, so keep your eyes open if this one looks like something you want to see.