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When Viola Davis shared a clip of a boy dancing in the rain, the viral moment sparked Anthony Madu’s journey from Lagos, Nigeria to Birmingham, England and the elite dance studios at Elmhurst Ballet School. In Madu, directed with care and sensitivity by Matt Ogens and Joel Kachi Benson, we follow that journey. Just 12 when he leaves his mother, father, and siblings to join the exclusive seven-year program at Elmhurst, Anthony must acclimate himself to a new country, a new climate, and a new social environment while striving to fulfill his ballet dreams and make his family proud.
MADU: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
The Gist: At night in Lagos, beside a roaring fire, Anthony Madu dances ballet solo for a small audience of family and friends, his performance lit not by theater spotlights but the flames and headlight beams of gathered motorbikes. It’s a beautifully shot sequence that opens Madu, and one carefully aligned with footage of Anthony dancing onstage in the colors of Elmhurst Ballet School. Because while the circumstances of his study abroad opportunity were unexpected, his passion for dance and inherently graceful sense of movement were never, ever in doubt.
“I was five years old when I discovered ballet,” Anthony says in his voiceover that occasionally appears in Madu. “Ballet’s not accepted in Nigeria; people think that it’s not for boys.” And in early scenes, as Anthony prepares for his departure to the UK, a sense of the bullying and teasing he has encountered is established. This does not deter him from practicing. No music, no instructors, just concentration on his movement, as life goes by in the congested streets of Lagos. And while the bullying is unfortunate, and has made him careful in social situations, Anthony does have the full and loving support of his mother Ifeoma, father Raymond, his siblings, and their church community. “One day, my son started dancing,” Raymond says. Was it a hobby? What was its purpose? “But as time went on, it’s something that one must embrace, accept, appreciate.”
In the 360-degree program at Elmhurst, Anthony lives in campus housing with his fellow ballet student Samuel. It’s an adjustment – not only the rigors and expectations of formal dance training, but lots of regular everyday school stuff. Naturally quiet, Anthony also works to find his way socially at Elmhurst, a dynamic Madu establishes by respecting the solitude he carries with him but punctuating it with heartening buddy moments at the lunch table or his friends asking about his life in Nigeria. There is no narrator here, no additional onscreen titles, no cutaways to interviews with subject experts or the people in Anthony’s life. Instead, Madu builds a steady inspirational current through music, thoughtful cinematography, and the limitless potential of young people pursuing movement and ballet with the pointed encouragement of Elmhurst’s teaching staff.
What Movies Will It Remind You Of? Madu co-director Matt Ogens helmed Audible (Netflix), the powerful, Oscar-nominated short film about deaf students navigating the challenges of high school and athletics. And Disney+ also features the documentary series Choir, which follows the young singers of the Detroit Youth Choir as they hone their craft.
Performance Worth Watching: He’ll get by with a little help from his friends. Madu is enlivened by numerous scenes that capture Anthony, his roommate Samuel, and their pals at Elmhurst in the simple, unstructured moments of laughter and mutual empathy that define friendship. He says he didn’t have friends back home, where he was teased for his interest in ballet. That has changed. “There is Anthony in those days, and there is Anthony now.”
Memorable Dialogue: During a critique, the instructors at Elmhurst are impressed with how Anthony integrates his inner life into his approach. “It could be the emotion you’ve attached to your sister, ‘cause I can see something in what you’re doing. It’s imagery, flickering from one picture to another in your mind.”
Sex and Skin: None. Only the celebration of human movement.
Our Take: “I ask myself if I’m going to be really great at dancing. And sometimes I don’t think I have what it takes. All the times that I got bullied. But I didn’t give up then, so I don’t see why I should give up now.” Quiet and thoughtful, with an easy smile, Anthony Madu really opens up whenever he’s dancing, no matter the context. In Lagos, as his classmates play kick the can, he practices silently and steadily in a corner of the recess session. Some of the kids laugh and shake their heads, but nothing stops his determination. And later, in class at Elmhurst, he incorporates instruction in the core forms and movements of ballet, refusing to give up even when an undiagnosed retinal condition flares up and limits his vision. It’s inspiring, this level of devotion. But Madu lets that feeling sink in on its own through sensitive observation of Anthony’s everyday life and study. It makes the space for Anthony to tell his remarkable story, partly in his own words, but mostly through his commitment to illuminating physical expression. “Dancing is kind of like a way of telling your story about how you feel,” he says. “Sometimes I express joy. Sometimes I express pain. It’s kind of like letting go of the anger in me and the sadness in me.”
Our Call: STREAM IT, especially if there is someone in your life looking for a little inspiration of their own. Madu tells the story of Anthony’s unlikely journey from life in Nigeria to studying ballet in England with respect for its subject and sensitivity to what he has experienced. But it’s heartening message of believing in and working toward one’s dreams is entirely universal. It’s like Anthony’s mom Ifeoma says before he leaves home. “Know what you go there to do. Don’t forget where you’re coming from.”
Johnny Loftus (@glennganges) is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift.
