Gangs of Lagos

You might remember Jade Osiberu (director) from her work with Isoken, the movie that’s frequently cited as the best new age nollywood romantic comedy till date. However, Jade said “hold my cupid’s bow” as she delves into the depths of the darkness of human nature with Gangs of Lagos.

Gangs of Lagos is a movie about Isale Eko (Lagos Island), the other side of the glitz and glam state we have come to know. The side of the state where kings are truly made and the price is often paid in blood. It follows the story of Obalola (Tobi Bakre), Ifeanyi ‘Pana’ (Chike) and Gift (Adesua Etomi) as they grow in the streets and grow through the streets. They all have a dream of being bigger than their current circumstances and over time that dream evolves until it comes to a head with their respective destinies later on in the movie.

Truly, Gangs of Lagos is a story about “Isale Eko”. It’s the story of its people, its lifestyle and its hustle. Jade gives the city flesh and life with her characterization of it. It shows forth in the sounds of the city that are always present either in overtones or undertones in almost every scene. It’s in the rich colors of the buildings and the people here, no characterization is out of place so she expertly draws you into a whole new world. Each character in Isale Eko adds to the color of the movie and the Island, it fills up the story and gives it the weight needed to hammer in the ending.

They say content is king and in this context storytelling is king. As initially mentioned, Gangs of Lagos is not just the story of three friends. In fact, it barely is that. It’s the story of the dealings of the city that seems to manifest around these three friends. The viewer gets to watch Obalola grow from a small head-strong boy fighting against the “destiny” that has been foretold for him into a young man trying hard to navigate his way out of this world with his head still on him. As he grows, we see the city change around him and yet stay essentially the same. We watch as power changes hand in a way that draws parallels with current reality. Possibly a big reason the movie makes such a strong connection is because of the happenings in our current times. The tensions rise as the movie progresses and the role of ‘power’ and ‘politics’ slowly and expertly transition from a small side note to the main driver by the end of the movie. The power of the storyteller here in essaying the transitions, the interlinking, the juxtaposition and growth of plot devices cannot be understated.

Tobi Bakre reveals a different side to him with his performance here as he embodies and truly becomes the ruthless and hardened Obalola. In all honesty, there was a little bit of fear within me that our glamorous Adesua might lend an unbelievable tint to the street character of Gift. However, this is where expert writing meets intentional directing and highlighted strengths. Adesua as ‘Gift’ is not in a movie where the story is about her, she expertly lends a supporting arc to the stories going on around her. And in this supporting role she truly shines and helps further buttress her scene on screen. Chike as “omo Igbo” is a revelation. In his limited moments, he portrays the outwardly tough but internally timid “Ify” like a pro. I would be remiss to forget The powerhouse that is Chioma Chukwuka as “Mama Ify”. Her performance especially in that church scene was equivalent to watching a well balanced grand orchestra where the strength of her performance, the weight of the emotions behind her words, the words chosen, the music supporting her speech and the cinematographers shots came together to literally push the film into a new dimension. Again, the strength of this film is the storytelling and not any singular actor or character because while each performance helped to move the movie forward, the story is what keeps you seated for the two hour duration.

Gangs of Lagos is an inspiring example of what nollywood can do when we focus on storytelling over gimicky methods of selling movies.