Starring: Ini Edo, Makida Moka, Kofi Adjorlolo, Omoni Oboli, Shawn Faqua

Synopsis:

A sexually victimized woman is stumped when trying to bring her abuser to justice due to his political position and “above the law” status.

Review:

Adamma (Makida Moka), a young, college student had her future threatened when she was abducted and raped by two men. When released, she was left wounded and traumatized, and she moped around for days. She finally revealed the nightmare to her family and they sought justice. 

The challenge was that the rapist was a high profile politician. He had a public image and enough money to pay off influential people. He even offered millions to his accomplice to take the fall for the crime.

While Adamma was left with the stigma of rape and a possible unwanted pregnancy, she also had the burden of proving the crime. 

Let’s Talk. This movie meant well but failed to excite. The frail story served as a veil to what felt like a public service announcement. With lines like “when a woman says no she means no” and the duplicated line “we all have sisters, nieces, etc,” the movie came off as a little preachy. 

Most movies are about telling a story. This felt like the filmmakers wanted to tackle a particular topic and they wrote a story around it. Therefore, the movie had a forced and disjointed aura about it. 

The crux of the story was to break down the wall of silence surrounding the stigmatization of rape. Women in some parts of the world are deemed damaged goods by potential suitors after rape. As a result, rape is often undisclosed in fear of disgrace.  

The flip side is that the offenders are also silent so the crime, in essence, is swept under the carpet. In an effort to remedy the controversy, “Code of Silence” encourages women to speak up. 

Unfortunately, the story surrounding the issue wasn’t captivating. It was nostalgic at times and very basic. The acting, however, was pretty good as we had Patience Ozokwor, Ini Edo, Shawn Faqua, and Omoni Oboli, who helped breathe life into the script. The lead role played by Makida Moka, was a decent performance as well. 

Omoni Oboli had the best theatrical moment when her character admitted to being a rape victim. Her emotions were subtle yet revealed whom the character really was.

The most disturbing scene was when Adamma’s family felt they couldn’t report the rape to the police without evidence. Huh? Isn’t it the job of the police to find evidence? How could any government not protect their women? 

The bottom line is that no woman deserves to be abused, sexually or otherwise. Women were not put here by God to serve as cans for some loser to forcefully relieve their garbage into. At the core, it’s a lack of respect for women. The first step is to talk about it and the second is to do something about it. Women must rise above the shame and fight the madness. 

Although this isn’t the first movie to expose this matter, I give a high five to the filmmakers for tackling it. I don’t salute the story but I do support the endeavor. RECOMMEND