Starring: Jackie Appiah, Jim Iyke, Sam Dede

Synopsis:

A wealthy man that lost everything gradually regained his status as an affluent member of society as his wife mysteriously went crazy.

Review:

Larry (Sam Dede) used his house as collateral to invest in a business that turned out to be unfruitful. Prior to the investment, his wife, Claribel (Jackie Appiah), begged him not to use the last of their savings but he ignored her. They lost all of their assets as a result. 

During their time of financial struggle, Claribel accepted money from Larry’s best friend, Godwin (Jim Iyke). When the bank finally foreclosed on their home, she stayed at Godwin’s house. This caused Larry to believe they were having an affair and he turned his back on them and disappeared. 

Larry moved on with his life and took small jobs to help make ends meet. He became associated with a businessman that seemed to bring luck in his life. As time passed, Larry regained his wealth. As he enjoyed the pleasures of all money had to offer, Claribel was living on the streets as a derelict gone mad.

Everyone in town believed that Claribel’s condition was the result of a ritualist. They thought it was Larry’s way of revenge due to his belief that she cheated on him. Claribel’s mother referred to Larry as a “ritualist bloodsucker” while Larry’s mother labeled Claribel a cheating wh*re. 

With lots of anger and blame to go around, a remedy was needed to bring Claribel back to normal. The source of her illness had to be discovered in order for her to begin on the road to recovery. Who or what caused Claribel to lose her mind became the question of the day.

Let’s Talk. This is a drama. It flowed well, moved at a fast pace, and gradually revealed the turn of events preceding Claribel’s breakdown.

The story was told with quite a bit of back-story but it didn’t distract from the drama. What’s great about it is that it offered a fair amount of suspense that made it captivating. 

In terms of the saga, there’s just one little itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny, bothersome detail. Larry missed spending time with his daughter and planned to kidnap her. The school was forewarned of his intentions yet they allowed the little girl to walk home alone. This scene made the kidnapping scene hard to accept. 

The casting was excellent. The characters that were supposed to be family actually resembled each other and were believable.

Performances were great as Jim Iyke and Sam Dede rocked in their roles. Jackie Appiah dug into her emotional toolbox and hammered out a perfect performance. Her character went from normal to mentally disturbed and her performance was simply outstanding.

“Excess Money” is a fine example of a well executed story. The movie was further complemented with great music. RECOMMEND

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