Starring: Femi Jacobs, Kiki Omeili, Paul Utomi, Shaffy Bello

Synopsis:
In order to raise money, a young woman resorts to driving a taxi and picks up a passenger that turns out to be a blessing in disguise.

Review:
Joan’s (Kiki Omeili) family struggled financially. They were behind on their rent and it was hard to make ends meet on her father’s income as a taxi driver. When her father took ill Joan took over the taxi business in order to pay his hospital fees.

One night she picked up a passenger, Ford (Femi Jacobs). He was a successful businessman and he offered her a lucrative contract to drive him around for ten days. As the two became acquainted, Joan became attracted to him but he was engaged to someone else.  

Let’s Talk. The term “Moth to a Flame” refers to the irresistible attraction moths have to fire and bright lights. Fire is dangerously hot yet moths are particularly enticed by it. This term relates to the story in that the love interests, Joan and Ford, were attracted to each other,  however there wasn’t really a danger factor as the adage suggests.

The movie is basically a romance in the making between a man and a woman after a chance meeting. It’s not clear who was the moth or the flame in the situation but the drama was understated yet engaging.

When the ten-day contract was coming to a close, Ford offered Joan a permanent position in his company which would ultimately keep her around. Conflict ensued because Joan harbored feelings for him but he had a fiancée that his mother was intent on him marrying.

The truth is that the story wasn’t exceptional but managed to pique the curiosity. It moved at a leisurely pace and this method can be tricky if the story isn’t intriguing enough. In this case, the pacing allowed the relationship to develop and we got to experience certain moments between Joan and Ford as they got to know each other.

Actually, the entire movie was a set up to a romance that we never got to see. As soon as Joan and Ford discovered their feelings were mutual, the movie ended. More romance would have soothed the soul but at least the filmmakers gave us a kiss that concluded the story in a satisfactory manner.

The Joan character was the movie. She abandoned fear to take on what could be a dangerous job for a woman to raise money for her father – a worthy cause. The writer gave her good familial relationships – especially the one with her brother where she confided in him and he offered encouragement.

In terms of performances, Femi Jacobs played an intricate character, similar to the one he played in Miscellaneous. His character was low-key, aloof, and reserved when it came to his feelings. Actually, his persona was true to life as we sometimes feel one thing but say another.

Kiki Omeili played Joan and she gave a standout portrayal of the character, offering the only thing we can ask for – authenticity! And she played the part without a stitch of glamour!! Lovely!

This is the part of my review where I normally complain about sound but it was crystal clear! Yes!

At the end of the day I can’t say the spark between the love interests was off the chain but the story was compelling enough to watch. RECOMMEND