Dark October

‘Dark October’ is a unique film in Nigeria’s cinematic landscape. It is not a comedy, or a romance, or an attempt at an action flick, or even an account of an event in the country’s political timeline; some of which we have had over the years. It is a film based on a true, tragic story, one that is at once, personal and prevalent.

Eleven years ago, Nigeria was shaken by the necklace lynching of four Uniport students, all at the fringe of adulthood, by a community in Southern Nigeria for the false accusation of theft. Linda Ikeji chose this story to introduce herself to the world of film production, tapping Toka McBaror to direct it and assembling a cast of new faces; Chuks Joseph as Tizzy, Munachi Okpara as Big L, Kelechukwu Oriaku as Tamunor and Kem Ajieh-Ikechukwu as Chiboy, to tell the boys’ story. The choice of novices to fill such central roles in a film of this level seems at first skeptical. Truly we can see that their skills in general do need a good deal of fine tuning. But whether the bigger names in the industry, most of them older than the people they are to portray and long removed from university life, would have given the film what is its best quality; the chemistry between the boys, is doubtful.

The genuineness of their dialogue, mannerisms and persona is precious. They talk about dreams and girls, they tease each other, exchange my guys, handshakes, finger snaps. Their chemistry, the free flowing spirit of their camaraderie, gives flesh to the story and to the characters themselves. And we are able to see them as real people; happy, hopeful, human.

In a larger sense, the rest of the cast too help bring the film a sense of realness. The meeting between the Aku community elders and the Vigilante men is worthy of special mention. The dialogue between the village chief Charles Okpala, Asari, the vigilante commander (Anichi Chinedu) and Aboli (Prince David), the gesticulations, the side talks, mumbles of disagreement and expression of assent by the gathered elders and youths are all very convincing and very Nigerian. McBaror does good work with the directing, we see each part of the story developing separately. We see the boys formulating their plan to accost Wisdom, we see the community holding meetings and making decisions on how to address the issues they are facing and we see also the circumstances and motivations that join their fates in that most tragic of ways. Although we do not know how much creative license has been taken by the producers, it is definitely impressive that they are able to tie the different aspects of the story into a cohesive whole.

There are no real flairs added to the cinematography, no special angles or camera movement outside of the basic, but it is still somehow enough. It almost even gives the film a stripped down, honest sort of beauty. Everything is presented to us bare; the dark hallways of the hostel, peeling flyers on notice boards left over from months and years, faded paint on walls. It gives the film a touching aura and it is difficult not to wonder about the real boys themselves. Perhaps they, like the four characters, sat on those old steps too as they laughed and conversed and decided on their course of action. Perhaps they too draped their arms over its rusty railings as they bantered.

The special effects makeup in the film is standard stuff. The gashes, bruises and cuts appear deep, raw and real. So good that you want to pull your eyes away from the goriness of it but at the same time marvel at how realistic it is. There are ways in which the filmmakers could have done better of course, but there really isn’t any obvious failing, well except for the musical performances. I wonder what is so difficult about syncing produced songs to scenes that makes every Nigerian film fail so shamefully at it. But the most important part of the movie is handled efficiently, perhaps too efficiently. The climax and tragic end are every bit as painful as you can imagine it would be. McBaror holds nothing back, and you almost wish the boys’ acting isn’t as good as it is, it only makes their ordeal much more difficult to watch. With the slowed down, grey tinted flashbacks, the plaintive vocalization, the goriness of their broken and charred bodies, it is clear that the filmmakers want us to feel the weight of the tragedy but it still is in no way maudlin.

Although ‘Dark October’ lacks the artistic shine and mastery that is needed for a truly exceptional film, it is still one that will leave a lasting memory in the minds and hearts of the people who watch it, most of whom live in a country where this evil is still as rampant as it was when the real life victims; Ugonna Obuzor, Lloyd Toku, Chiadika Biringa and Tekena Elkanah, were senselessly and heartlessly killed.