Kasanova

The set up is endearing. The grading is high quality. The music draws you in but does it live up to the expectations that it builds in the trailer?

Kasanova is a romance that’s purely just a story of family and love. From the trailer you expect a love story but the film itself aims to be richer than that. It tugs at your heart strings but not just in the cupid kind of way. It’s a feel-good film of the no-character-left-behind kind.

It tells the story of Femi (Wale Ojo), a widower turned playboy, who meets Miss Jessica (Ireti Doyle), a hardened divorcee. They are both in the throes of trying to raise two headstrong and wily teenagers. These teenagers also happen to attend the same campus and not care too much for each other. At least that’s true in the beginning until Jason (Abayomi Alvin) decides to get at Ini (Ruby Akubueze). He does this by attempting to play that classic film move of dating her and dumping her. From this moment, you are clued in to exactly how that one is going to end.

The aesthetics of this film is the first and most prominent selling point. The color grading is pristine and consistent from shot to shot. And if we are speaking of shots, can we take a moment to appreciate the blocking of every scene. Even in the scenes where actors aren’t delivering, you are forced to respect the way that they move in relation to the camera. The way they place their arm, when they place their arm, the spots they choose to sit at, and the way the camera dances with them on the way there. That brings us to the cinematography. It’s not loud and obnoxious but it’s present and potent.

There’s something about a love story between older individuals – it just flows differently and it’s a different brand of sweet. There is one particular scene in this film that I honestly paused and rewound at least three times. It’s the scene where Femi and Jessica go to “his favorite part of the country”. Everything in that scene came together perfectly – argue with your forefathers. From the prance of the dialogues to the sincerity and rawness of the performances, you had no choice but to feel the love between the characters. When Femi says “I’m intentional about you”, it becomes clear that the purpose of his rambling earlier was to get to that moment. And when Jessica looks over at him and drops her head on his shoulder, you can see that the hesitation and worry that was present seconds earlier is definitely letting up. It’s the small moments like this that gives Kasanova its world of charm.

But its not all butterflies and rainbows here – and no I’m not just talking about Ireti’s edges in this one. Whether an older couple or a younger one, love stories almost can’t seem to avoid falling into the ditch of cliches. The conflict that arises at the end of this movie isn’t anywhere near strong enough to make the intended dent. So while the characters mope and groan, we simply sit back enjoy the sad music and pretty shots while awaiting the inevitable reunion.

One part of this film that could definitely have been done better is the sequence of events leading to our main leads professing their love. The way it plays out seems very out of the blue – in one scene they are meeting and insulting each other, next they have a brief reconciliatory dinner that’s interrupted by another woman, then they meet outside for a morning jog and next thing you know we are saying “I love yous”. Is it just that this love thing moves a lot quicker the second time around? Cos we the people are confused.

Then there is our young ones. Abayomi Alvin and Ruby Akubueze do a fair enough job. Alvin still has a bridge to cross from going through the motions of things to selling a character. Ruby on the other hand does well for a newbie (correct me if I’m wrong) in the day-to-day scenes, but her struggle is too obvious with the high emotion content.

At the end, it’s hard to shake the feeling that even though Kasanova was quite enjoyable, it doesn’t ever live up to its potential. By the way, what happened to Jason’s bet with his friends?