Title: PASSION & PAIN (1 & 2)

Starring: Emeka Ike, Genevieve Nnaji, Ramsey Nouah

Synopsis:
A woman must make a decision between two men – one that loves her and the other that she desires.

Review:
It was young love between Maureen and Damian (Genevieve Nnaji and Emeka Ike). They weren’t rich but they had each other while they were students attending a university. Things derailed when Maureen met campus bad boy, Francis (Ramsey Nouah), who was good-looking and rich. He pursued her while completely aware that she was spoken for.

Francis seduced Maureen by showering her with gifts. And just as he planned, Maureen betrayed Damian but she had to crawl back to him when Francis left for the states to finish his education.

Sometime later, Francis returned to Nigeria a married man. He ran into Maureen and they secretly rekindled their sexual relationship and Maureen was unaware that he had a wife. She turned up pregnant and Francis showed his true colors and turned his back on her. But Maureen found herself having to choose between Francis and Damian once again when she gave birth to her baby.

Let’s Talk. This is a love triangle where a woman was involved with two men – one that used his heart and the other that utilized his money. The men were complete opposites but they shared a common desire for Maureen.

The story was typical. We’ve seen plenty of stories where a person is torn between two loves. It’s true that in life it’s sometimes difficult to find all the qualities that one desires in one person. Sometimes we have to decide between the one that loves us and the one that we love. Hopefully, it’s the same person but in this movie, it wasn’t.

The tale was executed well as in no wasted screen time. It went a little wayward when Francis (Ramsey Nouah) returned to Nigeria with a wife. First off , the acting by the actress that played the wife wasn’t the best. The role should have been played by an American actress or at least by someone that could pull off the American accent and attitude. This actress tripped over the words and didn’t portray the character well.

Secondly, it’s not clear what Francis saw in his wife. How he came to marry her instead of Maureen was puzzling. The woman wasn’t personable and they had no scenes where they shared affection so it was difficult to connect to their marriage.

What we witnessed in this movie was the meaning of true love. Damian (Emeka Ike) not only forgave Maureen twice for her transgressions but he was willing to raise a child that he didn’t father. Now that’s impressive! It also brings to the forefront that sometimes we have to lose what we had in order to really appreciate it as seen with the Francis character.

Performances? Pretty good. Ramsey Nouah, Genevieve Nnaji, and Emeka Ike all gave persuasive performances as expected.

As for technical stuff, sound wasn’t the greatest in some scenes. As usual, music won the battle against dialogue.

“Passion & Pain” is the title but it lacked the kind of passion we want to see in movies. However, the story works when you consider the responsibilities that’s adjoined with relationships and that love ideally prevailed. RECOMMEND