British incoherence in Africa So many things were right about this movie--actors, plot, writing--it's hard to admit what a disappointment it was. The screenplay was utterly disjointed, lacking in cohesion, and, at times, sense. In part, this was due to the trendy hand-held camera work which jounced you up and down and all around, without really seeming to produce very much aside from a case of vertigo. What was the point of all those strange angles? But to a greater extent, the loss of sense was due to the fact that the film tried to be everything--a thriller, a tour of Africa, a love story, a political commentary (and rather heavy-handed at that). Sometimes it even bordered on National Geographic. (The short clip of street theater was very interesting, but not relevant.)Unfortunately, in trying to be everything, it was nothing. The emotional impact of the love story was lost because the relationship between the main characters, Justin and Tessa, remained almost entirely undeveloped. They meet, they inexplicably go to bed, they inexplicably get married (one assumes). Then presto! They are in Africa and she is working as part of an aid project (again one assumes). Then she's dead. There is no reason for us to care. There is also no reason for us to care about any of the personal betrayals--real or otherwise--that crop up in the film, because none of these relationships are developed either. As a thriller the film was also a failure, because you know practically from the start who the villains are. As a consequence, Justin's journey to final knowledge does not come as a revelation to the audience. (So where's the thrill in that?) The other hats this movie wears-- infomercial about Africa and AIDS (?), expose of pharmaceutical companies, political critique of government corruption-- are scattered, unfocused, shallow and just tend to gum up the works. In sum, this was a film which had great, but unrealized, potential. I'd say "better luck next time," except film makers don't get second chances.