Perfect Four

Perfect four is a film from the stables of Ruth Kadiri. ‘Four’ in the title because it centres on the lives of four university students; two pairs of friends whose lives become intertwined as a result of an exam malpractice scheme gone wrong, and ‘perfect’ because…well, I’m not really sure.

On one side we have Damian (Chidi Dike) and Steven (Eronini Osinachi) as pals. The two write exams for students in exchange for money, but Steven, who impersonates his more brilliant friend, seems more interested in the chance to meet ladies that their illicit business affords them. Steven, posing as Damian, agrees to write exams for Lilly (Stefania Bassey) but they are caught and face possible rustication. Lilly’s parents smooth things over with their wealth and she is free to go but Steven on the other hand, the only child of struggling parents is almost certain to be rusticated.

Lilly’s mom however offers Damian an opportunity to save his friend; tutor and transform Lily within a month and she would use her influence to free Steven. There is a condition though, in that Damian is not allowed to let anyone know of this agreement — not Alero (Francess Nwabuike), Lilly’s friend, who unaware to him has developed feelings for him, or Steven who feels betrayed as he watches his friend grow closer to the girl he is interested in, and not even Lilly herself, who despises him from their very first meeting. It is this non-disclosure agreement between Damian and Lily’s mom and the effects it has on the friendships and relationships of the four that is the film’s focus.

The plot, in its basic sense, ranks high in the list of small-production tropes; a beautiful, spoilt and wayward only daughter of wealthy parents, the daughter cavorting around in sexy clothes and flashy weaves, the mother making incessant threats and passionate appeals to her to change which of course fall on deaf ears and the father who is mostly silent about this, his only job being to smoothen the effects of her actions with good old money and connections and of course, at some point apportion blame to his wife for what ‘her’ daughter has become. However, the issue of the non-disclosure agreement brings a unique twist to the story and this along with the commendable performances by the four, especially that of Dike and Bassey, stops the story from being dismissed as hackneyed and easily predictable.

The colloquial Nigerian English dialogue the four use give the film a sense of realism that keeps you invested in the story. Chidi Dike triumphs in his most emotional scene where he condemns Lilly’s parents when they come to plead with him to see their daughter. All the rage and pain he has held back are finally unleashed and it is convincing, more so than Osinachi is in his own broken moment when he laments his possible rustication with all wailing and no weeping.

The acting of almost every other character outside the four is lacking. The scene where Lilly’s parents go to see Professor Joe (Chief Ewie Aimienwau) about their daughter’s malpractice case is painfully bland. And he and Onyekumnaru Emmanuel, who plays Mr Ubah; Lilly’s father, seem to be in an unspoken competition on who can give the more lacklustre performance. It is Nweze Lola, who plays Alero’s mother however, that takes home the prize, adding questionable diction to her obvious lack of acting chops. In her one major scene where she converses with Mrs Ubah about the positive influence Damian has had on her daughter, she says; ‘His presence in my daughter’s ‘lives’ has really improved greatly,’ which, apart from the redundance of using both ‘really’ and ‘greatly’, means an entirely different thing from what she is trying to say. Mrs Ubah (played by Gloria Jemedafe) is the only exception in that she tries to and succeeds in putting some life into her character.

The soundtrack of the film is impressive and features beautiful male vocals, although the soulful, sentimental songs are a bit too much for the film and would be more appropriate for a more intense drama. The simplicity of the plot does not require much in the area of direction but there are fuzzy areas in the story’s execution. It is not plausible that in a higher institution, students are allowed to write exams without any sort of identification so that guys can get away with seating for female students. It is also very unlikely that Damian and Lilly would spend so much time together without the issue of the Gucci bag coming up and her finding out the mix up. And Alero always being conveniently away when Damian comes over to tutor her friend even though they share the same flat is noticeable.

Notwithstanding its substantial flaws, the perfect four although far from profound, succeeds at what it aspires to be; an adequately enjoyable popcorn film.

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