Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Obituary of Tunde Johnson’ on Hulu, a Harrowing Time-Loop Drama in Which a Gay Black Man is Killed by Police Over and Over Again

Now on Hulu, The Obituary of Tunde Johnson funnels the teen LGBTQ+ experience and the issue of police violence against Black Americans through a Groundhog Day conceit. Yes: whew. It’s an understatement to call the directorial debut of Ali LeRoi (co-creator of the sitcom Everybody Hates Chris) ambitious — and difficult to watch at times, since the time loop in which the title character is trapped includes numerous harrowing instances of deadly police brutality. So the film may be relevant, but it also may not be for everyone.

THE OBITUARY OF TUNDE JOHNSON: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: A narrator reads the obituary of Babatunde Adesola Johnson (Steven Silver): He was born in 2002 to Nigerian parents, he attended a prestigious school, he was lifelong friends with Marley Meyers (Nicola Peltz), he was killed by police. But when we meet Tunde, he’s still very much alive. He watches a video he made of his boyfriend Soren O’Connor (Spencer Neville) from earlier that day, when they skipped class and went to the beach. He listens to some music, smokes a bowl, summons up a little courage. His father Adesola (Sammi Rotibi) watches conservative TV talking head Alfred O’Connor (David James Elliott) debate contentiously with two Black guests about the recent killing of a teenager by police. Tunde sits down with his father and mother (Tembi Locke) and tells them he’s gay, and they react with warmth and acceptance. In a joyous mood, he leaves to attend a party, but gets pulled over by two white cops who verbally harass him and make him get out of the car and when his cell phone rings and he instinctively reaches for it one of the cops guns him down.

A narrator reads the obituary of Babatunde Adesola Johnson. Then, Tunde awakes in bed gasping as if from a bad dream. He shakes it off and goes to school, where he hangs out with Marley, who we learn is sleeping with Soren. She knows Tunde is gay and urges him to come out to his parents, but she doesn’t know Soren is his lover as well. Soren is a somewhat stereotypical jock-type who hangs out with his lacrosse teammates, one of whom bullies Tunde for wearing black all the time. Tunde nervously gives a presentation in his film-studies class, then heads to the bathroom where he pops some benzodiazepines, which may be prescribed for his anxiety, but maybe aren’t. He and Soren duck out of school to go to the beach, where they agree to come out to their friends at tonight’s party. Next is a session with his psychotherapist, followed by a repeat of his coming-out-to-his-parents scene, except he already knows what his father is going to say. He leaves for the party and is once again killed by the cops, although this time we see it from the perspective of the police dashcam.

A narrator reads the obituary of Babatunde Adesola Johnson. Tunde awakens gasping again. Maybe this isn’t a terrible nightmare? We see variations of similar scenes as before, with Soren and Marley and his parents. One of the students in class critiques a film for being nonsensical because the protagonist narrates when they’re already dead. Tunde is killed by police and a narrator reads the obituary of Babatunde Adesola Johnson and he awakes. Parents, Marley, Soren, except the intensity of the scenes seems to be ramping up. Tunde is killed by police. A narrator reads the obituary of Babatunde Adesola Johnson. He awakes.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: This is Groundhog Day meets Fruitvale Station meets Love Simon. See also: Edge of Tomorrow, Source Code, Palm Springs and the extraordinary Netflix series Russian Doll.

Performance Worth Watching: Silver’s asked to carry a lot of conceptual weight here, and he does so capably, with emotional resonance to match his expressive features.

Memorable Dialogue: “With unconditional love comes unconditional fear.” — Tunde’s father

Sex and Skin: Half-butts in medium-steamy, thrusty/moany sex scenes, both gay and hetero.

Our Take: At the halfway point, The Obituary of Tunde Johnson already feels overstuffed thematically and conceptually: Tunde is Black, gay and understandably anxious about life in general. His father is an artist whose work reflects on the Black experience, and who studies the TV show hosted by Alfred O’Connor who, yes, just so happens to be Tunde’s gay lover’s father. The film is also a high-school drama with a love triangle and a jocks-vs.-outsiders dynamic. And then, there’s the self-aware component in which Tunde’s classmates comment on the narrative in which they exist, and our protagonist wants to be a filmmaker and his obituary states that he was inspired by Ryan Coogler, who we all know directed Fruitvale Station, a true-story tragedy about a young Black man killed by police. A relevant question I had while watching all this: Is Tunde popping too many pills?

So yes, the movie appears to be messing with us, albeit beneath a layer of earnestness that’s difficult to resist. Its appetite for topicality is admirable; LeRoi and screenwriter Stanley Kalu keep their passion focused and poignant, keenly avoiding the gooey tar pits of melodrama. There are hurdles to overcome — plot contrivances, the Soren character’s lack of definition, the awkward experience of watching actors play teenagers despite clearly being much older than teenagers (Silver was 30 when the film debuted in 2019). Some supporting and peripheral characters are broadly rendered, underscoring obvious But with each repetition and variation on Tunde’s death, the film reaffirms its intent: to elevate the emotional, social and political situation of a young American born into struggle. It can be an odd blend of trite teen drama, traumatic real-life horror and narrative gimmickry, but you can’t say it isn’t bold.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Hang with The Obituary of Tunde Johnson, and you’ll find it at least moderately rewarding and memorable. You may grow to admire it, too.

John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Read more of his work at johnserbaatlarge.com or follow him on Twitter: @johnserba.

Stream The Obituary of Tunde Johnson on Hulu