The Therapist

I hit play on The Therapist expecting to be dragged through two hours of an emotional ordeal about the trials of abused women and the struggle of a newly divorced woman to make her way through society. Thankfully and surprisingly, that’s actually not what this film is about.

The Therapist is the story of Eloho (Rita Dominic) who escapes a physically and emotionally abusive husband only to find herself penniless. She pitches tent with her bossom friend Gari (Michelle Dede) and somewhere along the way she meets Mrs. Priye (Toyin Abraham), another woman in a similar situation to the one she just escaped. Eloho takes it upon herself to help Mrs. Priye escape her troubles and soon enough it turns into a business where the ladies are doing it for many married woman.

This film has three main sections as far as the story goes. There’s Eloho’s abuse and escape, there’s the formation of the business, and then a love story. The best thing is that all these parts flow seamlessly from one to the other without any singular bit dragging excessively. The writers deserve the praise for making a light easy watch of such a strong and heavy topic.

The production here is stellar and consistent. From the first frame of Rita preparing for dinner with her husband, a tone is set with the colors, the lighting and the framing that hints at what’s to come even before it arrives. And the film manages to maintain this control of its mood and tone from start to finish so a hats off to cinematography and direction.

Then there’s the performances. Rita is effortless as Eloho. The matching of Rita, Michelle and Anee is a trio that plays well together without any excess forced moments. The only questionable performance here is really Chidi Mokeme as our lover boy. Watching him struggle with these love scenes might make you want to rewatch his older nollywood movies and see if he was ever fluid as a lover boy. His rendition of the lines and his movements just failed to convince here. Regardless, it doesn’t take away from the joy of the film.

The Therapist is a fun easy watch especially if you are watching it on your sofa for free as opposed to the theatres.