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Moffie Movie Review

Moffie is a 2019 biographical war drama film directed by Oliver Hermanus and starring Kai Luke Brummer. It’s a typically well made, confidently directed movie from this director.

A young man gets drafted into South Africa’s military, but he knows he is different and must keep himself hidden. However, when another recruit develops an intimate relationship with them, they are now both in danger. Based on a book which itself was based on the author’s real life experiences, the movie has that attention to period detail and authentic lived-in experiences that are to be expected from a strong adapted screenplay such as this one.

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I personally preferred ‘Beauty’ more from Hermanus when it comes to his gay stories. This one is never as moving as that film was. Still though, it is a powerfully made film that is particularly effective at evoking the mood of confusion, fear and pensive sadness. It paints so accurately and tragically just how difficult life in South Africa must have been like for all gay men. The extreme machismo on display with all of its toxicity was difficult to bear while the era’s racist tendencies were also put on full display in a film that takes an honest look into the country’s troubled past.

Kai Luke Brummer delivered a surprisingly strong, layered performance and he did elevate this rather underwritten role. Yes, the flashbacks that we get to see delved deeper into his sexual awakening early years, but I wished to have seen more of that development in the present day scenes. His love interest also gets very little to do and their dynamic is one that is definitely realistic in the unspoken emotions depicted, but that ending on the beach left a lot to be desired as it was overly ambiguous and abrupt.

Moffie really needed better characterization across the board as all of these men are just fleeting presences. This is why I found ‘The Inspection’ to be a better film as it dealt with a similar subject matter, but it definitely had more heart. The third act that fully went into war action territory was tiresome and I wished to have seen a more memorable conclusion to this story.

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The cinematography is gorgeous, the overall attention to detail is mesmerizing and the directing from Oliver Hermanus is as terrific as always. The acting is also quite good and the dialogue is very realistic. The movie is so well shot and scored as it definitely looked like it was made in the eighties, which was admirable. It had an authentic feel throughout, but it certainly needed a bigger emotional punch and defter pacing.