Starring: Ruth Kadiri, Ujams Cbriel, Centhia Ihebie, Ikenna Okereke

Synopsis:
A man is forced to take in his ten-year old boy from a previous relationship only to have him suffer abuse at the hands of his wife.  

Review:
Emeka (Ujams Cbriel) learned he had a ten-year old son due to the illness of the child’s mother. She eventually died of aids and Emeka had no choice but to take the boy in. Telling his wife he had a child was challenging but his wife’s reluctance to accept the child made things worse. Betty (Ruth Kadiri), his wife, begrudged the boy so much that she physically abused him and used him as the house help. 

When the boy’s blood splattered on Betty from a cut, she immediately visited the hospital for a HIV test. Much to her dismay, the test showed she was positive and she vehemently blamed the boy although he didn’t carry the virus.

Let’s Talk. This movie had a few things going on. We had the five-year, childless, marriage between Emeka and Betty, we had the topic of HIV, which Betty learned she had contracted, and then we watched Betty deal with her diagnosis. 

The story was long and sort of served as a PSA about AIDs. The stigma still exists and the story spoke of infected people living normal lives thanks to treatment. The issue of child abuse wasn’t raised although it happened quite a bit in the movie.

The loose end lies with the ambiguity of how Betty became HIV positive and it wasn’t a good idea to be vague about her condition. Revealing how she got the virus would have quenched audience curiosity and add value to the story.

What was great was that the movie offered characters that actually evolved. Emeka (Ujams C’Briel) shunned his son at first but then grew to love him. Betty (Ruth Kadiri) came to terms with her illness and recognized that she took out her frustrations on the wrong person.

Performances were the highlight. Ruth Kadiri was effective at playing the wicked step-mom and Ikenna Okereke, who played her stepson, was not only adorable but he exuded raw talent.

Audio and video sufficed. RECOMMEND