London Film Festival Review: Of Good Report (2013) - NP Approved

Cast: Mothusi Magano, Petronella Tshuma, Thobi Mkhwanazi
Director: Jahmil X.T. Qubeka
Country: South Africa
Genre: Drama | Thriller
Official Trailer: Here

Editor’s Notes: The following review is part of our coverage of the BFI London Film Festival. For more information on the festival visit http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff and follow the event on Twitter at @bfi.

In its short run of appearing on the big screen, Of Good Report has left controversy and debate in its wake, even being temporarily banned from showing at the Durban International Film Festival due to its explicit content, chiefly what the classification board deemed as ‘child pornography’. The film is, in the words of its director Jahmil X.T Qubeka, a “serial killer origins story about how a social misfit turns into an inadequate man hell-bent on satisfying his shameful lust”. The film follows the unsettling and traumatic life of teacher Parker Sithole and his illicit affair with a student that spirals into tragedy. Qubeka’s Of Good Report is a darkly satirical, daring and disturbing take on the serial killer origins genre, as well as an artistically crafted South African homage to film noir.

Qubeka’s Of Good Report is a darkly satirical, daring and disturbing take on the serial killer origins genre, as well as an artistically crafted South African homage to film noir.

Parker Sithole is a deeply introverted but outwardly docile high school teacher with a love for literature. Described as a man ‘of good report’ by his professional superior, little is known of his past and his origins. Alone in a local bar one night, Sithole is introduced to a mesmerizingly beautiful and confident young woman, whom he eventually begins an affair with. His newfound world is brought crashing down the following day when he walks into his classroom ready to teach to see her sitting at a desk with the rest of the class – she is a student. Realizing that he would now face condemnation if their past actions were discovered, he continues their affair covertly, until it slowly but surely comes to a tragic conclusion.

Of Good Report is an intense and profoundly well-executed thriller exploring the character of a deeply disturbed teacher who is superficially “of good report” and yet harboring a deeply distressing secret. Qubeka expertly maximizes the tension available to such a situation through his clever cinematography, eerily employed and unnerving music accompaniment and the character of Sithole himself. Sithole is an unremarkable character, embodying the everydayman introvert perfectly; what is particularly striking about Sithole is his total lack of speech. Throughout Of Good Report, Sithole never utters a single word. This factor immediately draws an ominous intensity to the character along with a level of unpredictability that leaves the viewer feeling deeply unsettled. The audience can only begin to imagine the vile and torrid thoughts lying just beneath the surface of his moot exterior and Qubeka exploits this contingency by purposely choosing not to show the explicitly violent murder sequences that transpire, including the dismemberment of a body and the brutal execution of a person by a cricket bat; he simply leaves such abhorrent details to the imagination of the audience.

The ambiance of film noir that pervades the film’s atmosphere is minimalistic and effective – perhaps the dull colour palette consisting of only black, white and grey is resonant of the way in which Sithole himself views the world; in black and white, a characteristic often attributed by psychiatrists to psychopaths. This notion is demonstrated by his inability to let Nolitha go. His mentality resonates the ‘if I can’t have her, no one can’ attitude; he doesn’t contemplate the possibility of remaining anything other than lovers with the object of his desire.

Throughout the film, important parallels are drawn between Vladimir Nabokov’s classic novel Lolita and the narrative of Of Good Report. Chiefly, the name Nolitha is pronounced ‘Noh-Lee-Tuh’ – a direct rhyme with ‘Loh-Lee-Tuh’. Furthermore, the narrative of the film entails an older gentleman who becomes transfixed on a younger girl to the point of obsession, which spirals dangerously out of control, a direct outline of the story in the novel. Although the context and content of both narrative mediums are dissimilar, the subtext of both forms the frame of the film and the novel.

Qubeka purposely skips liberally from Sithole’s past to his present, granting the audience a disjointed and disconcerting glimpse into his troubling relationship with his elderly and severely disabled but strict mother. This interwoven sub-story acts as a rationale for his ever-obvious insanity; this point is further highlighted by her frequent reappearance in his present. He is clearly haunted by her even after death, introducing an oedipal-like subtext to a film that somehow, through the craft of an expert, juggles two interweaving storylines and finds the perfect balance between the two.

The ambiance of film noir that pervades the film’s atmosphere is minimalistic and effective – perhaps the dull colour palette consisting of only black, white and grey is resonant of the way in which Sithole himself views the world; in black and white, a characteristic often attributed by psychiatrists to psychopaths.

Just as any other film of its genre, Of Good Report incorporates both foreshadowing and dramatic irony into its storyline. Notably the two remarks made towards Sithole: “What have you got in that suitcase – a dead body?” and his landlady, in response to Sithole playing classical music at a high volume to stifle the screams of Nolitha: “You’d think he was killing somebody in there.” These minimal yet effective touches awarded the film by Qubeka place the audience on the side of Sithole; the audience go through the breakdown of his mentality alongside him and are rewarded with information known only to him. In effect, the viewer is granted an intimate look into the mind of a psychopath and, for a thriller, it works wonders. The inevitable eventuality of Sithole’s capture puts the viewer on the edge of their seats for a truly rousing, gripping cinematic experience. From the very opening shots of Sithole pulling human teeth from his scalp to the closing shots of him descending slowly into the horizon, Of Good Report delivers a sincerely intelligent and thought-provoking story, making it a befitting homage to film noir whilst simultaneously allowing it to become one of the most intellectually intriguing films to come out of South Africa in recent times.

• Bio
• Latest Posts

Zoe De Pasquale

Staff Film Critic

Having been raised on a steady diet of 'Star Wars' and 'The Lord of the Rings', I learned from a very young age that film was a form of escapism, as well as entertainment. I see film as a true form of art, not only because it evokes emotions within a person, but it allows people to learn something about themselves merely by watching. My love for film is intrinsic to who I am and teaches me new things everyday.

Latest posts by Zoe De Pasquale (see all)

• London Film Festival Review: Kill Your Darlings (2013) - October 17, 2013
• London Film Festival Review: Under the Skin (2013) - NP Approved - October 16, 2013
• London Film Festival Review: Sixteen (2013) - October 15, 2013