Starring: Nonso Diobi, Oge Okoye, Uche Jombo, Adaora Ukoh

Synopsis:
An influential sorority pulls out all the stops to protect one of its members that was duped by a campus playboy.

Review:
The Black Bras is a female group formed by college students. They were all about female empowerment and denounced the victimization of women.

One of the members, Irene (Oge Okoye), was being pursued by Frank (Nonso Diobi). He was determined to have her and she ignored her sorority sister’s warning that he was only after one thing. But Irene was so impressed by Frank’s relentless persistence that she fell for him.

Frank immediately lost interest after he slept with her. Irene was nothing but a conquest and Frank continued to chase skirts behind her back. They eventually split and Irene came away from the relationship feeling used.

The Black Bras set out to make Frank pay for Irene’s pain. They ruined his reputation and no woman on campus wanted to date him. The situation escalated when Frank got fed up of feeling like an outcast and struck back.

Let’s Talk. Campus dramas. They’re typically about men “scoring” and this one fell right into the trap but the story was laced with compelling conflict. Frank messed with the wrong girl and the Black Bras were against the very male trickery that he bestowed upon their friend, Irene. 

It was all about the game. It’s a situation where interested parties, Frank and Irene, knew the other’s motive. Irene knew Frank was interested in sex and Frank knew she thought she was too good for him. His job was to have sex with her and her job was to not have sex with him. But the two continued to “play” and when Frank scored, Irene lost. That was the core of the story.

Listening to the male banter was both humorous and insulting. After Frank slept with Irene he immediately bragged to his friend about it. This was immaturity at its finest and unwarranted disrespect.

The most important thing to note about the story was the rape of another woman who was also a member of the Black Bras. In my opinion, this part of the story called for more punishment than Irene’s broken heart. African movies have a tendency to sweep rape under the rug or deal with it in a vague manner. It’s a vile crime and it should have been tackled to a larger degree.

In terms of performances, good actors have the ability to rope the audience into a story and that’s what transpired here. Nonso Diobi played an enchanting antagonist. Clearly, he was up to no good but he was so interesting to watch. Oge Okoye played Irene, the possessive girlfriend, and she was a good match for him.

As for technical stuff, the filmmakers worked with what they had. There were some spotty sound defects but not bad. The music played was appropriate for the topic and overall direction was good.

The lesson in the story? There are two. 1) Don’t play with a person’s heart and 2) Karma is a mofo. This writer’s points were well received and quite frankly, this is what campus dramas should aspire to be. And yes, I’m wearing my black bra. RECOMMEND