Butler's Cinema Scene

“THE FIRST GRADER”  My rating: C 

103 minutes | PG-13

“The First Grader” is well-meaning, sincere and a bit dull.

Too bad. It had the makings of a real emotional powerhouse, but somehow all the juice in this fact-based tale dried up on the way to the screen

Oliver Litono as "The First Grader'

Ann Peacock’s screenplay is based on events in the life of Kimani N’gan’ga Maruge, a Kenyan who at the age of 84 decided he wanted to learn to read and write.

His efforts to get an education set off a firestorm of controversy, not least of all because of his history as a Mau Mau rebel. Maruge was part of that anti-British uprising in the early ‘50s, was imprisoned, tortured and finally released after recanting his vow to the Mau Mau cause. He lived most of his life in near poverty.

As Maruge, Oliver Litono radiates quiet dignity but not a whole lot of range. He plays the part mostly for stoicism.

Considerably more compelling is Naomie Harris (of “28 Days Later” and the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise), who exudes compassion and a lumninous screen presence as Jane, the teacher at an overcrowded rural school. Jane allows Maruge to study with her class and must endure the backlash of a rigid educational system and an avalanche of reporters trying to claim Kenya’s biggest human interest story.

Director Justin Chadwick peppers the tale with lots of impressionistic flashbacks to Maruge’s early life as a revolutionary, but “The First Grader” never delivers the dramatic punch we’re expecting. The story should be an uplifting taler of empowerment and social justice; mostly  it feels perfunctory.

| Robert W. Butler