The Set Up

The Set Up is a story of two young ladies – Chike and Grace – but mostly about Chike. Chike’s father was a killer in his time and after he passed she became a drug dealer. It started off as an attempt to pay back money which she used to free her bestfriend turned sister, Grace, from a future of sexual slavery, then many years later they become so good at their game that they are targeted by the NDLEA. Then enters madame. Madame, played by Tina Mba, swoops in and introduces the ladies to a new world – the world of the con. And somewhere along the way, the lines start to blur on exactly who is being conned.

Let’s start off by talking about the actual story. Often times with storylines that involve a lot of twists and turns, they somehow manage to over-twist and over-turn that they either lose the audience’s ability to follow, or they lose the audience’s attention and sometimes they lose both. The Set Up succeeds in masterfully convincing of one story as the core story, engaging you and rooting you in that, switching the story up a second time to impress you; and the third time, even though its more expected at this point, it still manages to impress. Having said that, they also excelled in ending it right on time because by the time the black screen appeared saying “Madame” towards the end, I had lost all patience and all cares for any other variation of the con.

Then there were the characters. Possibly my favorite thing about this movie was the first few minutes of it. In the first twelve minutes, before the opening credits roll (and even through the opening credits) the backstory of our two main characters are played out. Not just in silent flashes of scenes with music overlaid but time is actually taken to show what both girls were like growing up and how the bond was formed. Then the visuals go on to expand on how they started their hustle, how they met Madame and their time/training at “The Academy”. It is lovely to see when as much work is put into the backstory and characterizations as is put into common things like costumes and sets.

And then there were the shots. The cinematography of this film was almost a language of its own. It consistently – from start to finish – managed to find a way to either heighten the emotions on screen or to bring attention to nuances that audiences would otherwise miss but that are actually important to the story being told. Beyond the expertise and visual oomph of it all, the consistency as far as the cinematography and directing goes, really was impressive. This consistency to quality is a common thread in other aspects of the film from the props to the costumes and the red band to the energy and the music that enshrouds the whole experience.

Having said that, even though The Set Up is magnificently impressive as a nollywood film. There is a certain piece that seems to be missing to take it from just being an impressive piece of work to being an unforgettable piece of work. It’s hard to say where that piece would have come from but despite the back stories and proper storytelling there is a sense of connection between audience and character that’s never really achieved.

However, what is achieved are performances that reel you into a world where you are engaged and fascinated from start to finish in what is happening, what happened, and what will happen next.