Chiwetel Ejiofor gives a riveting performance. The English actor, who first gained attention as a Nigerian doctor in Dirty Pretty Things, transformed himself in a drag queen in Kinky Boots, had to learn martial arts for the role. As a spiritual leader, a man of principal and integrity, and a failure in business, Ejiofor brings to the screen a gravitas comparable to Forest Whittaker's samurai warrior in Jim Jarmusch's Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai.
The ensemble cast also includes a jittery Emily Mortimer, Tim Allen as a tough guy movie star, Mamet regular Rebecca Pidgeon, and rising star Alice Braga as the martial arts instructor's beautiful wife.





