The Delivery Boy

The Delivery Boy is a great example of taking the least amount of resources and making the absolute most out of it.

In this film, a suicide bomber and a prostitute find themselves in an unlikely collaboration when they are both stuck hiding together in a small keke on what pans out to be an unusually long night. As the night progresses, they both realize that they can help each other out and as such this unlikely duo set about achieving their individual goals.

It’s easy to start a film like this with multiple reservations – wondering if it will be slow, wondering if it will be excessively deep or excessively preachy etc. – but The Delivery Boy doesn’t give you much time to ponder all that. The story kick-starts from the very beginning and doesn’t allow you a moment to stutter. From the very first scene you are already plunged into Amir’s world effortlessly as his emotions are plane to see on his face and backed by his actions a couple of seconds later. The way the story unravels itself doesn’t allow a moment of dullness. The theme of the story is centered on quite a few societal consciousness themes ranging from the undercover operations of adoption agencies in Nigeria to Jihad training of young men in Nigeria as well as the abuse of underage family members in the cities to the broken healthcare system in Nigeria. The fabric of the story itself is hard hitting without ever getting overly preachy and by the time the end credits roll, even though we aren’t suddenly catapulted into a better society, the audience still gets a sense of blissful closure.

The production of this film is another topic on its own. In just a brief sixty-six minute runtime the writer, director, cinematographer, graphics, props and every other team involved manage to collaborate for one of the most seamlessly arranged dances you’ve had the pleasure of seeing in nollywood. The shots that the cinematographer chooses somehow manages to standout on its own in many scenes without distracting from what the actual scene is about. The action shots are well choreographed and the graphics of the proceeding gore is very well done (especially in the orphanage scene) – even though one could argue that while the choreography of the action is great, the way the camera jumps around to capture it could have been less chaotic. The color grading and the tribal music is very well suited for the film and never looses consistency.

Ibrahim Jammal as Amir/Joseph really does very well embodying the character on a visual level as well as with his countenance and his facial expressions. The conviction does drop off a bit when he is in speaking scenes but never to the level of Jemima’s. Jemima Osunde here plays the character of Nkem, the prostitute. And at many times, especially the bus ride scene, it seems like the weight of the character is heavier than anything that she has the capacity to display. Kehinde Fasuyi here in her brief moments embodying the character of Sister Dorcas was a welcome breathe of fresh air as she managed to take one short scene and provide such a wide variety of responses. Her character goes from glee, to violent, to wicked, to harsh to victim of society and much more in the blink of an eye and she doesn’t skip a beat.