Starring: Jammal Ibrahim, Jemima Osunde, Charles Etubiebi, Jude Chukwuka

Synopsis: 

With the help of a prostitute a suicide bomber sets out to perform his last act of violence. 

Review:

Joseph’s life (Jammal Ibrahim) didn’t have a good start. He was raised in an orphanage and when he was finally adopted there was an agenda at the root. His new father changed his name to Amir, taught him a new religion, and sent him to a camp where he trained to be a suicide bomber. 

Some time later, Amir was ordered to carry out a suicide bombing but instead escaped to carry out his own agenda. On that evening, he met Nkem (Jemima Osunde), a prostitute who was on the run, and circumstances forced them to ride the night out together. 

Let’s Talk. This is a story of fate. We have Amir, a smart yet troubled man who meets Nkem, a woman scarred both emotionally and physically. They met as they were running away from separate incidents that occurred just moments before. As they got to know each other, and we them, it became clear that their agendas couldn’t have been more different. Amir was out to kill while Nkem was out to safe a life. Both were pivotal in the other’s goal. 

The relationship was rocky at first as Amir criticized Nkem for being a prostitute as though being a murderer was any better. She did what she had to do to raise money for her brother’s surgery. But the disparaging remarks came to a halt as the night became a matter of life or death. 

This film was well rounded and fully capable of sustaining viewer interest. It’s dialogue driven with elements of action and subtitles that translated native dialect. With a running time of just sixty-six minutes it was straight to the point and well paced. As the story unfolded, it continued to relish with intrigue, authenticity, and sharp dialogue. 

There’s a segment that related to the interpretation of God’s word as Amir questioned what he was taught about the Qur’an. It’s an interesting topic because many religions are based on the Bible yet the understanding becomes contorted and accompanied by different practices by the various denominations. People tend to twist the words whether for convenience or not. Many of us adopt our parents beliefs but when Amir turned away from his father’s ideals that commenced the fire in the story. 

One thing that was questionable was whether someone would tell their entire past to a complete stranger the way these characters did. The flip side is that the audience needed to know the details they relayed in order to understand character motive. So I guess there wasn’t much of a choice in the matter. 

What was really notable was that the one person who helped Nkem didn’t require sex from her. The writer avoided romance although I secretly hoped for a little somethin’ somethin’ between the main characters. 🙂 

Direction and performances were on point as Jammal and Jemima were fully committed to their roles. Writer/Director Adekunle Adejuyigbe wrote a screenplay where tensions escalated and then we were dropped off at a place where our imaginations concluded its events.  

This story had a premise similar to Pascal Amanfo’s Nation Under Siege. Both exhibited life in a cold world where corruption and religious beliefs led the way. But at the end of the day, this wasn’t the typical Nollywood movie and “The Delivery Boy” delivered the goods.  RECOMMEND