Light Hearts

In a world full of varying flavors of love stories, what exactly is it that makes a love story work and others not? Is it the acting or the chemistry between the actors? Is it the world-building or the directors shots? Is it the writing and the character development? Or is it some combination of all of the above.

Light Hearts is the story of Nada Makinde (Uche Montana), a strict and stern DSP of the police who encounters an uber driver, Tare (Chike Daniels), who propositions her to be his sugar mummy. She responds to the insult by having him locked up and when she finally releases him he passes out and has to be rushed to surgery. Events continue to unfold that cause Tare and Nada to spend increasing amount of times with each other until the inevitable end of a romance film finally comes to pass.

The love story of Light Hearts really makes you question why you, as the audience, are so intensely intrigued. There’s something different about this very very familiar storyline. It is in the way that the writer dedicates the first half of the movie to the occurrences of a 24-48 hour period. In that time of building the exposition the audience truly gets to know and fall for these characters. And the fact that the actors themselves have chemistry with each other does not hurt either.

Chike Daniels might not be the world’s strongest male lead but in the small moments he shares with Uche’s character on screen your heart can’t help but be drawn towards him. Nada’s stern and rigid character is not written in some overtly original and never before seen format. On the contrary, there are many moments that may have you thinking “haba, this girl too do sha”. But despite this, your heart still falls for her. So that when the ice queen finally starts to melt you almost want to break down into dance.

Is this the writing? Is it the performances? Is it the directing? Even after having watched the entire film, I still cannot pinpoint what it is about Light Hearts that feels so different. Uche Montana’s first foray into film production is clearly an outstanding success. Because even if she doesn’t do the numbers (which is highly unlikely), she has successfully written a story that captured enough hearts to be remembered. It is not without its flaws. Asides from the already mentioned acting issues, there are story holes like with most other YouTube movies that just serve to move the film forward. Like why Nada is incapable of finding a way to reach Tare when they are separated. Do you not have internet access? There’s also issues with the audio here and there and moments that don’t quite work with the shots the director chooses.

All this aside, Light Hearts is truly a sweet and endearing watch due to whatever mystical ingredient they added to the soup.

Watch ‘Light Hearts’ Nollywood Movie Below