The plight of immigrants has become especially fraught in this country. You’ve got elected officials playing into racist fears of “dirty” black and brown people being sent to your neighborhood where they’ll threaten women and children. But all these people want is to find a better, safer life for themselves and their families. It might not be a 1:1 experience faced by Letitia Wright’s Nigerian emigrant character in Aisha, but as she navigates the bureaucracy and bigotry of the Irish immigration system, we come away with the understanding it isn’t far off.
Wright is perfectly cast as Aisha, bringing with her a poise and pride that encapsulates the Nigerian refugee. She’s struggling to keep her head above water at a Dublin holding center, which looks more like a halfway house or foster care, with many of the same burdensome rules enforced by stern staff members. Aisha has a lot on her plate. She’s working a low-paying job just to get by, while also sending money back home to care for and eventually bring over her ailing mother, who is in hiding after Aisha’s father and brothers were murdered by gangs. But Aisha’s status isn’t certain, either. There’s always the threat that any misstep could lead to her deportation. Those in positions of power have no problem lording this possibility over her whenever they see fit. Aisha faces what seems like endless interviews to justify her need to stay, but they feel like attempts to justify her very existence to those who could care less.
So it’s no shock that Aisha is mistrusting and resentful of just about everybody. She has few friends, but finds a surprising connection with Conor, played by rising star Josh O’Connor, recently seen steaming things up the tennis court in Challengers. It’s a more naturalistic performance from O’Connor, quietly reserved and even gentle. He’s got a troubled past, too, but it’s his job as a security guard at the detention center that puts him in Aisha’s orbit. Both feel like outsiders for different reasons and find a connection in their mutual struggle to find peace.
There’s a tenderness in the relationship between Aisha and Josh, but it’s not without lingering questions and a fair amount of tension. Writer/director Frank Berry, who chronicled the problems of the Irish prison system with 2017’s Michael Inside, builds their growing friendship with a pace to match its tenuous status. It’s always possible that Aisha could be there one day and gone the next, which makes it tough to move forward. Clocking in at just over 90-minutes, Aisha has a lot to say and not enough time to say it all. It feels like there’s a bigger story that Berry wants to tell. He certainly has the actors for it. Wright and O’Connor deliver big-hearted performances that should help draw attention to people who need our support, not our derision.
Samuel Goldwyn Films will release Aisha into theaters on May 10th.
