Title: OBSCURE MOTIVES (1 & 2)

Starring: Ramsey Nouah, Jackie Appiah, Yemi Blaq, Rukky Sanda, Bimbo Akintola

Synopsis:  

Grudges, resentment, and jealousy surface when two couples intermingle and the past comes flooding back.    

Review:

The story commences with Rob and Debbie who had been dating for four years. During this time Rob (Ramsey Nouah) never popped the question and after some careful thought, Debbie (Jackie Appiah) decided it was time to discuss the status of their relationship. It turned out that they were not really in love with each other and they split amicably.

Rob offered to let Debbie live in the apartment so she didn’t have to scramble to find another place. The two lived together as roommates, remained close friends, and harbored no ill feelings.

Rob later fell in love with Remi (Rukky Sanda) and Debbie happened to fall for Rob’s former friend, Albert (Yemi Blaq). The couples got along well and did everything together. During a conversation between Rob and Albert there was a hint that they had a past conflict but Rob quickly dismissed it before Albert got into any details.

Cut to years later after marriages and kids, armed robbers intruded on Debbie and Albert in their home. Albert was shot dead in cold blood leaving Debbie an inheritance worth millions.

While Debbie remained distraught over Albert’s death she relied on her old friend Robert for emotional support. The next thing we know, Debbie rekindled her romance with him while he was still married to Remi. He actually left Remi and his children to be with her. Happily ever after? Not quite. Secrets and obscure motives surfaced that rocked the foundation of their union.  

Let’s Talk. This wasn’t a bad story but somehow it wasn’t gripping enough. There were too many scenes that dragged on for dear life that made the movie boring at times. The actual intrigue and suspense arrived too late and by then I was already suffering a certain restlessness for the movie to come to an end.

At one point, Debbie was accused of killing her husband to acquire his wealth. Supposedly there was a ton of evidence. What evidence did they have? A rekindled romance with Robert and the purchase of a new car and home doesn’t equate to evidence.  They didn’t find the killers or connect Debbie to them so how did she wind up in court fighting for her freedom?

There’s also a scene where Robert is about to propose to Remi and he walked in on her embracing another man. He instantly threw a jealous fit but the “other man” turned out to be Remi’s brother. Sigh…So cliché. 

As for technicalities, the background music was so loud during the home invasion scene that the dialogue couldn’t be heard.

Performances? Not bad. Yemi Blaq, Jackie Appiah, and Rukky Sanda sufficed but it was Ramsey Nouah who takes the cake. He is an exquisite actor. Any production should be lucky to have him. It’s funny because I wasn’t really engrossed in the story but I believed Ramsey Nouah’s character.

Overall, “Obscure Motives” suffers from inadequate story development and the narration throughout the movie was completely unnecessary. The reasons behind the obscure motives should have been handled when they occurred this way the audience could save the two hours it took for the situation to be avenged. EJECT

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