By Naomi Salami
Drama Title: Strangers
Release Date: 29, April 2022
Runtime: 1 hour 58 mins.
Director: Biodun Stephen
Producer: Banji Adesanmi
Background
Based on an intriguing true-life story, this Netflix movie, Strangers takes the audience on an emotional rollercoaster ride. The engaging movie dwells on the daily hustles and struggles of Adetola Akinjobi (played by Adedimeji Lateef). Narrated by our protagonist, the narrator talks about his life in the hinterland of Ireti, South-west, Nigeria, and how a series of calamitous events reshaped his life.
The Plot
We are introduced to the village of Ireti by the voice of Adetola (Adedimeji Lateef) where he talks about the community’s simplicity and carefree life, including how everyone knew one another. His description of the village gives the audience a clear picture of how the natives live in sheer ignorance, which gives them a sense of peace and tranquillity. But their ignorance almost cost him his life. The actual story begins when young Ade (Daniel Bogunmbe) was awoken from a nightmare, which appeared to be a warning sign for the impending doom that is likely to affect him. A few days later, Ade developed a strange boil on his leg which appeared after he went to the local river to play with his friends just like boys his age do at the time. After intense treatment by his grandfather (Peter Fatomilola) who happened to be the village herbalist, the condition of the leg only grew worse, until he became an outcast as it was rumoured that he seems to have been bewitched by Ofa (diabolical arrow). But his unfortunate condition marked the beginning of his fortune change.
However, luck seemed to smile the way of Ade as he came in contact with a helper, Mrs Kylie Taylor, who we didn’t have the pleasure of seeing in the movie. She paid for his hospital bills which eventually led to the permanent healing of his wound. Mrs Taylor appears to be unfinished with Ade as she also offered to financially support him through primary school education. When told of the opportunity to go to school, Ade was discouraged because he believed he was too old to start school, but he was advised strongly by his grandfather, though uneducated, gave him the needed words of wisdom, to encourage him. His resilience, strength and the encouragement he got from his family and close friends along the way, helped him become a respected member of society and put an end to what some may call a generational curse.
The casts
The choice of cast for this movie was thoughtfully planned out and it only goes to show that a great movie can’t be determined by the amount of cash that goes into the project, but by the right team.
Bimbo Oshin captivated the audience every step of the way, with her breathtaking performance of Ade’s mother. She emitted a lot of emotions in the movie, which was in line with the role and behaviour of a mother. She also didn’t break from character when it came to acting uneducated throughout the movie.
The excellent blend of Yoruba and French in the movie said much about the creativity of the team. The French language was mostly spoken by Jayne Macauley (Ndamo Damarise) and Dr. Olatunde (Chris Iheuwa) who acted as a couple in the movie.
And let’s not forget about our star actor, Adedimeji Lateef (Adetola Akinjobi) who never seems to let down his audience whenever he hits the big screen. We couldn’t help but notice how he continued to stay in character by limping throughout the movie which was a result of the infection he had on his leg as a child in the movie and the number of surgeries he had to undergo to get better. This proves how far Nollywood has come when it comes to giving excellent performances.
Drawbacks?
An excellent movie no doubt but it still has one minor drawback. The movie fails to show us how the lives of Ade’s sister (Bolaji Ogunmola) and his younger brother panned out in the end. Although we understand how the writers didn’t want to confuse the storyline by adding other sub-plots. It would have made the movie more enjoyable if we know how the lives of the other characters in the movie progressed.
Verdict
Don’t let these minor setbacks stop you from watching the movie which gets a rating of 9/10 from us for its ability to captivate the audience from the beginning to the end. It also teaches a valuable lesson; most of the ailments and unfortunate incidents that happen in this part of the world, should not always be regarded as diabolical threats or generational curses, as this is always the answer to everything we don’t seem to understand. We should also take the time to fill ourselves with every bit of knowledge we can find, so we don’t drown in the river of ignorance.
The Netflix movie ‘Strangers’ is currently streaming and it is a must-watch.
Naomi Salami is a Content Manager with Meiza Nigeria.
