Guava Island

During his Coachella set on Friday night, Donald Glover released his highly anticipated film Guava Island. As a Donald Glover fan the news of this greatly excited me. It has been a while since I have seen him acting. I became a fan of his through watching him on the hit NBC sitcom Community and from there I got into his music and became mesmerized by his work. Donald Glover is truly the definition of a renaissance man as he excels in everything he does. He is a master in writing and comedy as well as his unique music that is refreshing to listen to.

Guava Island begins with a backstory of the island told from the point of view of Kofi played by Rihanna. The 54 minute film streaming on Amazon follows a day in the life of Deni played by Glover on Guava Island. Guava Island had been transformed from its resilient nature into an authoritarian ran island that is exploited for its natural resources. Deni is on a quest to throw a music festival for the people of the island. He has the goal of creating a song to bring together the people of the island. The film is very music-driven featuring Glover's hit songs such as "This is America" and "Feels like Summer." His performances of both these songs were true Donald Glover fashion featuring insane vocals, exuberant facial gestures, and out of this world vocals that only Glover can attain. As someone who has been a long time fan and has seen Glover perform live, he fully brought his own personality into this role. Although Rihanna never sang in the film she proved her acting ability by taking the role of Deni's girlfriend. The role felt authentic and natural to her and has been one of her better roles she has taken. The supporting cast added to the experience of Guava island by creating dimensional characters in Deni's narrative.

Although the film appears aesthetically colorful and light there are dark themes throughout. The people on the island are in constant survival mode in this community ruled by an authoritarian leader. There are also themes of death and capitalism. The screenplay by Stephen Glover, Donald's brother, and directing by Hiro Murai is the perfect combination for this project. This film was very authentic and came from a place of passion instead of profit. This was created to tell a story to audiences instead of gaining a profit on the beautiful work of Donald Glover. Glover succeeds in using the power of music to unite the island. The people of the island are focused on working due to the corrupt leadership of Red Cargo. Deni believes that since they live in paradise they should at least get to enjoy it for once. Glover brings the energy to the film through his actions taken by his character. He is charming and it is enjoyable to watch him groove and be Donald Glover in the musical numbers. This is Glover at his best and I cannot wait for him to top it in his next performance.