AllMovie

After a tonally confused opening, the BBC drama Shoot the Messenger finds its legs as a provocative but touching examination of identity politics. Joe Pascale (David Oyelowo), a successful software engineer, decides to teach at an inner-city school to provide a black male role model for the students and is fired after problem child Germal (Charles Mnene) falsely accuses him of abuse. His character in some ways harks back to other Brits who irreverently address the camera like Alfie and Trainspotting's Renton. In this film, the breaking of the fourth wall serves a more complicated purpose. Pascale's rants against absentee fathers, names that end with "eequa," and cloying Christian piety are the character's attempts to gain our sympathy, but they quickly go from being funny to atrociously offensive. As he hovers on the edge of insanity, Joe turns into an embarrassing friend who won't go away. Director Ngozi Onwurah and screenwriter Sharon Foster refuse to temper Pascale's offensive remarks until the final act, when Joe becomes involved with Heather (Nikki Amuka-Bird), who forces him to deal with issues of self-hate and the audience, in turn, is asked to understand Pascale. In balancing an intense personal drama with outsized satire, the story sometimes veers too far in either direction, as in the ridiculous, unconvincing scandal that erupts over Germal's supposed abuse. At other times, it seems to deliberately court controversy at the risk of reinforcing negative stereotypes. But, overall, this is a rare look at race that balances societal and personal concerns from an original perspective that attempts to discuss and not sermonize on the issues it raises.