The Obituary of Tunde Johnson

The Obituary of Tunde Johnson takes an eerily unique and effective aim at the ongoing slaughter of young black men by white police officers. Tunde stands in for those whose keening obituaries we've already read.

An agonizing tale about the weight society hoists upon too many black gay men's weary shoulders, it's the kind of film that lingers in your mind days after you've seen it, as much due to the relevant subject matter as to Tunde's penetrating gaze.

The cumulative assassinations begin to ache like a mysterious bruise, making the audience feel the psychic weight of living in fear. Yet, the style of the film is more teen soap opera than vérité miserablism.

Silver's performance also shows us exactly how many facets of Tunde are in play at any given moment, and how this experience shatters him over and over again.

It doesn't make the most of its time-loop conceit, but this drama nonetheless tackles issues related to LGBTQ+ identity and police brutality with a clear-headedness drawn from love and pain.

Kalu has bitten off a huge chunk of the relevant social dilemmas facing Black youth today with his amazing screenplay, and LeRoi doesn't disappoint with his directing.

Surprisingly riveting considering the anguish of being Black and/or gay has been done before. But Kalu's take on the matter, along with LeRoi's direction, is creative, fresh and very welcome.

... a young black man [is] killed by the police, over and over again, each death immediately followed by him startling himself awake in his own bed, so he can live the day of his death over again.

Kalu and LeRoi not adhering to time loop convention becomes a powerfully conscious choice rather than a mistake.

Ambitious and accomplished if uneven, this is a mixed bag that is nonetheless well worthwhile.