Title: NAKED FACES (1 & 2)

Starring: Majid Michel, Prince David Osei, Martha Ankomah, Ecow Smith Asante, Kalsoume Sinare

Synopsis: 

Three guys with different goals share a close friendship however, a lurking secret threatens to ruin their relationship.   

Review:

Max (Prince David Osei) was going through commitment issues as his girlfriend pressured him to marry her. Leslie (Ecow Smith) wanted to start his own company but his mother insisted that he run the family business. Frank (Majid Michel) had just returned to Ghana after being deported for dealing drugs. He didn’t have a job or a place to stay so Leslie invited to live with him and his mother, Catherine (Kalsoume Sinare).

When Leslie introduced Frank to his mother there was an instant connection between the two and this commenced the conflict. Catherine suddenly changed her style from long flowing dresses to shorter, tighter ones. The more she saw of Frank, the more intense her attraction became.

Catherine finally seduced Frank and then offered him a huge sum of money to keep him coming back. Their secret was short lived when Leslie discovered the affair and other secrets. 

Let’s Talk. This film is a screenplay within a screenplay. Writer/Director Pascal Amanfo played a wacky writer that narrated the story. The three friends are Frank, Leslie, and Max played by Majid Michel, Ecow Smith Asante, and Prince David Osei, respectively. 

The narration by Pascal Amanfo’s character moved the story along and allowed the viewers to experience the process of storytelling but I’m not so sure it was necessary for the Pascal’s character to be so cuckoo. 

The drama dealt with older woman/younger man relationships but the core conflict had to do with homeboy screwing his best friend’s mother. In the end, gunshots were fired, characters were hospitalized and jailed, and Leslie’s mother paid a high consequence for her lack of control.

Somehow I think the Catherine character should have been played as a more desperate, older woman who hadn’t been made love to in years. This was probably true of the character but it wasn’t executed to the level it could have been.

When Leslie (Ecow Smith Asante) discovered “the secret” it would have been more cinematically climatic to show the audience exactly what happened instead of us just hearing gunshots. There were no words between the men and there should have been. We should have heard them argue and try to explain themselves. We should have heard them attempt to repair the damage.

The cryptic ending left a feeling of unfinished business and the audience was left to come to their own conclusions which wasn’t fair after sticking around for two hours.

Overall, “Naked Faces” dealt with a subject matter that is taboo and there was an engrossing intrigue about it.  Performances were sufficient and the characters were likable and believable.

Please note that ‘Naked Faces’ is also known as “Open Scandal.”   RECOMMEND

Follow @TalkAfrMovies