The Last Tree (2019)
1h 38m | PG-13
Femi is a British boy of Nigerian heritage who, after being fostered in rural Lincolnshire, moves to inner-city London to live with his birth mother. Struggling with the unfamiliar culture and values of his new environment, teenage Femi has to figure out which path to adulthood he wants to take.
Director: Shola Amoo
Studio: Prodigal Film & TV
Genre: Drama
Video: 720p
Cast
Samuel Adewunmi
as Femi
Gbemisola Ikumelo
as Yinka
Layo-Christina Akinlude
as Bimpe
Rasaq Kukoyi
as Dean
Tai Golding
as Younger Femi
Tuwaine Barrett
as Dwayne
Reviews
Not the worst film of 2019 by any means, but not really anything too special either. There are even some shadows of "Moonlight" (2017) in this, but overall it is a fairly pedestrian tale of a dislocated lad's adjustment - not very straightforwardly - from his peaceful, fostered, life in rural Lincolnshire to the new, busy, and more aggressive urban surroundings of a London where he struggles to integrate readily. He must adapt to the pressures and temptations that brings, some of which compromise his decent and responsible upbringing. Visually, it is quite impressive and Sam Adewunmi certainly shows promise as "Femi", but otherwise it is a little too predictable and maybe could have done with some more potency in a dialogue that does rather follow the trammels.