Based on the highly acclaimed novel by Nigerian author Uzodinma Iweala, Beasts of No Nation tells the story of Agu (stunningly portrayed by newcomer Abraham Attah), a child soldier torn from his family to fight in the civil war of an unnamed African country. Idris Elba (BBC’s Luther, HBO’s The Wire) dominates the screen in the role of Commandant, a warlord who takes in Agu and instructs him in the ways of war.