Title: SHAKIRA – Face of Deceit ( 1 – 3)

Starring: Mercy Johnson, Majid Michel, Eddie Nartey, Kofi Adjorlolo

Synopsis:  

A heartbroken man becomes entangled in the web of a deceitful woman that he believes is in love with him.

Review:

Richie (Majid Michel), was on the rebound after he caught his girlfriend cheating on him. He had such high hopes for the relationship but it came to a speeding halt when he found her fooling around with his boss. As a result, Richie drowned his sorrows in the bottle and got drunk every day. Then he met Shakira and his life changed forever.

Shakira (Mercy Johnson) was a seductress with an agenda. She was the type that used her curves to get what she wanted. It all worked out because Richie wanted her body and she knew how to put it down in the bedroom. He was in lust and he couldn’t get enough of her. But what Shakira wanted from him became the core of the story.

It wasn’t until after their sexual involvement that Shakira revealed she was married. She claimed circumstances forced her into a marriage to a man that she never loved but the truth of the matter is that she married for money.  How could Richie and Shakira be together officially if she was married? Richie suggested a divorce but Shakira was dead set on the murder of her wealthy husband. 

Let’s Talk. “Shakira” is about lust, obsession, and greed. In terms of story, the movie lost a little steam early on. At forty-seven minutes in, the viewers still had to watch Richie getting drunk on a daily basis. Filmmakers need to take into consideration how much time to spend on certain aspects of a story. The movie needed to be in a different direction well before forty-seven minutes.

Honestly, this movie really started the moment Mercy Johnson entered the frame. No disrespect to Majid, we know he’s awesome but his depression over his ex-girlfriend simply went on for too long especially when so little screen time was devoted to their relationship.

This movie contained sexual situations. Filmmakers tend to include love scenes for shock value and (rarely) for story purposes. In this case, I think it was a little of both. Writer, Pascal Amanfo allowed the audience to eavesdrop on the characters a little more than we needed to. Obviously, he wanted to make it clear that Richie was “whipped” and the love scenes insured that the audience would believe this. It’s common knowledge that sex sells and love scenes have become more explicit.

I don’t have a problem with sex scenes. It’s human nature and without sex none of us would have come into existence. The question of the day becomes how much sex do we want to see in movies? Some are turned on by it while others are turned off.

We can’t control what types of movies are made but we can control what we watch. This is where motion picture ratings come in and I noticed that there was no rating on the movie cover. This happens sometimes when movies are repackaged.

The African movie industry has to step up to the plate and disclose pertinent information about movies. Accurate ratings allow consumers to gage how much adult content is in a movie and helps in making proper movie selections. See NollyGhally Today for more on industry issues.

Once you get beyond the lust in “Shakira” the movie does have interesting characters. Our leading man, Richie needed to fill a void while Shakira needed to be rid of one. Richie had a big heart and Shakira was selfish. It’s amazing that these two contrasting characters actually found common ground but they came together and used each other. Somewhere inside of Richie he did want love although sex was the driving force but Shakira was only capable of making a man feel good and loved no one. 

The performances enhanced the script. Mercy J is such a versatile actress and she must have had a ball playing this role. She nailed it as the femme fatale and she was a joy to watch. Majid successfully brought the emotions of an obsessed man to the character and the two worked really well together. 

With constant dialogue referencing Shakira’s hips, thighs, and flesh, this movie was clearly about lust, not love. Although I really didn’t care for the twist at the end, this wasn’t one of those movies where I couldn’t wait for the credits to roll.

“Shakira” can be best described as “hot” and it’s a movie that’s enticing enough to RECOMMEND

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