Listed and first reviewed on: 07/22/17
Alter Ego is a solid 8/10 for me. If you’ve read any other of my recent movie reviews (Isoken , 10 Days in Sun CIty , Wedding Party ), you’d already know that I’m sparing of movie review marks… so 8/10 is kind of a big deal for me!
Alter Ego is a 2017 Nigerian drama from the stables of Sidomex Universal LTD .
MAIN CREW
Produced By – Esther Eyibio
Directed By – Moses Inwang
MAIN CAST
Omotola Jalade Ekeinde
Wale Ojo
Esther Eyibio
Kunle Remi
Emem Inwang
Caution: major spoilers ahead! Now is the time to stop reading if you’re yet to see the movie!
Synopsis: The story centers around Ada Igwe (played by Omotola) who is a successful lawyer by day and a nymphomania by night (and day too…lol). Ada is hell-bent on ensuring that perpetrators of sexual assault against women end up atoning for their sins whether by means of imprisonment or public disgrace. As the story progresses, Ada finally meets a guy who she likes and begins to dial back on her escapades, only to find out that the dude is the baba nla of sexual assault. We also learn that Ada was molested as a child and that experience shaped the rest of her life.
What I liked: 1). The Overall Message – Rape is a topic I don’t take likely. SO it infuriates me that the Nigerian culture doesn’t do more to educate men and protect women from experiencing this awful thing. I like that this story portrays rape as the awful act that it is. The story also reminded me of a saying: “Hurt people hurt people.” We’ve just got to do our best as human beings to ensure that we aren’t causing or contributing to the hurt of others.
2). The Beginning Was Catchy – I’d admit, I was on my phone at first, but within seconds, I quickly realized that Alter Ego wasn’t one of those movies. You’d definitely have to pay attention from the beginning for it to make sense. Plus, when Ada told the driver to park in traffic and slide to the back for a “quick session” , I was like “wowu!”
3). Alter Ego Flowed – This is one of my biggest problems with Nigerian movies; the scenes typically seem chopped and screwed but I didn’t get that sense here. Overall, transitions were mostly smooth.
4). Decent Acting – Overall acting in this movie was decent. Some characters could have done better, but overall above average acting.
5). Sex Scenes – Wowu! If I’m to be honest, the sex scenes weren’t mind blowing, but just enough for us to know that we were watching an actual sex scene (unlike the nonsense you’d usually see in Nollywood movies…)
6). Production Clarity – Lagos never looked so beautiful! Even the courtrooms sef . I found myself trying to guess where everything was happening. Production quality was on fleek.
What Could Be Improved:
My major drawback with this movie is that the characters were not fully developed. The beginning felt rushed, so we got to see a lot of Ada but not much of any other character. Even at that, I think Ada’s character could have been developed further. When the movie ended, I was intrigued (as I’m sure you will be when you watch the movie) but not vested enough in any of the characters to care how they ended up.
Overall This movie is so different from anything else I’ve seen out of Nollywood in the past couple of years and is a welcome development. Not every time comedy comedy comedy, sometimes serious issues that impact us. Just really wish they spent a bit more time helping us really get to know other characters and how they came to be!
Disclaimer – Please note that this review is only one person’s opinion. After you’ve seen the movie, please leave a rating and comment below. Gracias!
movie started well, but then the last scene was off, i think the script writer didn’t know how to end the movie. But yeah, nice movie
The movie was ok, till the last scene. Like how did her sister and Daniel know she was at that place??? They could have ended the scene with kunle remi locking the gate. That way it’d be open ended,suspense is built and we imagine what happens next. The way it ended with gun shot… Naaaaa.