The Last Tree

Powerful coming of age drama about the early life of a Nigerian immigrant who returns to his birth mother after a childhood with a caring foster mother.

Act1. At the beginning of the film 'Femi' is a young black child to a very caring white foster mother, he seems happy and happy at school, his friends are mostly white as well. He learns that his birth mother is visiting, but we soon discover that her intension is to return to London with him.

We see that his new home is in a squalid tower block and he's struggling to fit into the environment and his new school. His 'new' mother is stern and has very little time for him. Femi resents the move, and the atmosphere between them is continuously tense.

Act2. The child is now a much older teenager, most of the film focuses on this part of his life. He's in his final year and his exams are fast approaching. He fits into the environment, he has a circle of mainly undesirable friends, and has caught the attention of the local king-pin drug dealer, who begins to groom him into his operation. Femi is struggling with what appears to be an unfamiliar black culture.

Act3. Femi visits Nigeria with his mother, his father is a wealthy pastor. He has several servants, his home is a palace. We see that he has a new family. So there is no reconciliation or reunion. Unfortunately Femi is emotionally rejected for a second time.

This has been compared with 'Moonlight', but I can't see why. The only similarity is that the plot is split into 3 acts, but that is where the likeness ends. The Last Tree is a much grittier drama with some very strong emotional performances.

Highly recommended.

This was such a fantastic film. The score and cinematography tied in beautifully with the story and Sam Adewunmi's acting was phenomenal. Still, the sound mixing struggled in places and some shots seemed forced in unnecessarily.

A quiet and contemplative coming of age story that steers clear of "big" moments, with a focus more on the intimate and every day, The Last Tree is an impressive calling card for director Shola Amoo and lead actor Samuel Adewunmi.

There are many beats of Tree that feel familiar, outsider finds themselves in new surroundings, coming of age dramas and racial prejudices are all found here and are by no means wholly unique in their existence but Amoo's carefully considered telling of Adewunmi's Femi's trials and tribulations growing up in London with his Nigerian birth mother Yinka, after a seemingly idyllic childhood in the laid back countryside, is a film that appears to come directly from the heart.

Beautifully filmed and captured, when we first meet Femi as nothing more than a carefree member of a "wolf-pack" of youngsters, roaming the farmlands of their homes and caring little about the colour of skin or cultural differences we are very much caught in the spell of Femi's life, a life that is uprooted in stark visual and vibe contrasts when he is moved to London, a city far less welcoming to the love and nurture his come accustomed to in his early years.

From here Tree takes on a more generic storytelling arc as Femi battles to keep his head in school mode, while he battles relationship issues with his mother and the lure of a life of crime with local petty criminals who promise him brotherhood and financial gain should he care to join them in their way of life.

The tropes that are covered off in this time-frame of Femi's life don't create much in the way of surprises or unexpected plot turns but despite this and the fact we aren't always allowed access into Femi's subconscious and thought processes, Amoo's film is engaging throughout, highlighted by a strong finale that doesn't provide hard answers, but displays much with merely a simple hug or letting loose of one's inner torment by an animalistic yell.

In many ways the film's final section is representative of all that has come before it, a story that never feels the need to tell us everything or showcase every beat of its characters as it goes along its way, a film content with allowing its audience to discover its debatable intricacies for themselves as we get an insight into the nature of growing up around a society that doesn't always make it easy.

Final Say -

A strong independent offering that suggests its young director and star are ones to keep a very close eye on, The Last Tree is a polished human interest drama that is worth hunting down.

3 ½ blue braids out of 5

Uplifting movie proving that growing up, whatever culture, especially amid violence and drugs, is never easy. Too many youngsters get lost, even when given love and attention. You can only guess and hope that a few make it, and find their purpose.

Yes it's slow, in the sense of no big explosions or high drama, but it keeps it's footing and draws you into the deeper story. A story of a young boy growing into a man and the trials and tribulations he goes through to get there. He starts off in an idyllic countryside setting, lots of friends, lots of fun outdoors, a loving Mother figure helping him learn right from wrong. His birth Mother comes to visit him and tells his foster Mother that she is working hard to get a place for herself and her son. This hits the Foster Mother hard, she loves the boy she has raised thus far and his real Mother is mostly unknown to him. His Mother comes to bring him to London, into a whole new world of strange food, strange home (with extra responsibilities), and no friends. It's the story of him trying to navigate drug dealers, bullies, and bad influences to come out with his self respect intact. I loved it. It's not for everyone maybe, but it was awesome to me. Very heartfelt and uplifting. It's a hard world he is thrown into, and don't we all know it!