-Nigerian (Yoruba) proverb
Aisha is often in a difficult place. She is a young refugee from Nigeria trying to persevere through the tedious refugee process of the Republic of Ireland. Ireland is an interesting country when it comes to migration. For the first time since 1851 during the Great Famine, the population of Ireland exceeded five million people, largely because of migration. Ireland has also had an enormous increase in refugees (a 749-percent increase from 2021 to 2022, the year the film Aisha was released in Ireland). Aisha is one of 81,256 refugees in Ireland in 2022. The system has come under further strain because a post-Brexit Britain (at least under the previous government) endorsed policies that directed refugees from Africa back into the EU through Ireland.
These facts might help one appreciate just how much of an uphill battle she has in front of her. The film, directed by Frank Berry, is not concerned with statistics but the human condition, in which characters have little interest in such statistics but instead are simply trying to survive. Aisha, played by Letitia Wright, is one such character. She is seeking refugee status in Ireland while her mother is back home hiding in Nigeria. The film, which is also written by Berry, is patient with how much of Aisha's story is told and even the aftermath of certain moments. This is not to say the pacing is laborious; its pacing is mostly appropriate. One thing, though, is irrefutable, and that is that she is dealt one rotten hand after another in her struggles.
Viewers. might expect a certain type of film with certain tropes and certain character arches that can be predicted. They are unlikely to find it here. In weaker hands, this is the kind of film where the difficulties Aisha faces would be gratuitously displayed with great theatricality. Instead, in the film she witnesses more micro forms of racism in her everyday interactions with locals. At one point, for example, she is told by a customer she's tending to that her English is good. (English is the national language of Nigerian.) She's told she's lucky; she doesn't respond. True, there are some examples in the movie of more in-your-face varieties of discrimination and racism, especially from the immigration officers. One staff member who does display kindness towards her is named Conor (Josh O'Connor), the night guard at the center. Conor is a recovering drug addict and former prisoner who is now living with his mom. One might get the impression that he is a guilt-ridden and possibly sleep-deprived individual through some of the subtle choices O'Conor makes as an actor. For what it's worth, O'Conor, a Brit who was brought up in Gloucestershire, apparently does an impeccable Irish accent here, with one viewer on Reddit claiming he couldn't believe O'Conor wasn't Irish.
Wright's performance in Aisha is her best yet. Known internationally mainly for role as Shuri in the Black Panther movies, she successfully utilizes the rich opportunity as the title character to show what she can do. There's a lot of restraint in her acting; she is playing a character who is frustrated, anxious, depressed, helpless, guarded, disappointed, and not at all in control of her situations. Wright is challenged with exemplifying all of this in a measured, realistic way, as the film is not one to indulge in hyperbole, all the while the camera spends considerable time focused on her face. Wright and O'Conor are both commendable in the film, but Berry also deserves credit for including real voices of actual refugees here to share their stories. Their descriptions of the pain of deportation, memories from their homeland, and other critical details lend further legitimacy to the undertaking of those involved in Aisha.
The friendship between Aisha and Connor (predictably) evolves into a flirtatious and romantic one. Conor even calls in sick to be with Aisha once she is moved to a different center farther away. The only time Aisha appears happy in the film is when she is with Conor. There's an obvious crush between them. They are moments of joy that give Aisha and the audience a break from the grim reality of her struggles to remain legally in Ireland.
Aisha is a recommendable film mainly because of what Berry, Wright, and O'Conor demonstrate in their work. Ideally, the three of them will continue to excel with future projects as realistic and honest as Aisha.
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