Home in Exile
Desmond Elliot, Francis Duru, Beverly Naya, Justus Esiri, Uche Jombo, Chiwetalu Agu, Clife Igbinovia, Ehi Isibor, Omoni Oboli
Three friends, Greg (Francis Duru), Dave(Desmond Elliot) and his Kenyan girlfriend, Julie (Beverly Naya), decide to build a hospital in Ewogie, the hometown of Dave, but the king Enogie (Justus Esiri) and his cabinet refuse to grant their request for the project. The people of the land will have to fight for what they truly care about or be denied the opportunity of having this basic amenity.
Home in Exile Part 1-3
Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen
2009
-Story: [1 out of 5] ***spoiler alert*** DIFFERENT is the word that I would use to describe this movie. The storyline is very very very different from your typical movie, but then again, nothing less is expected of the Nollywood veteran director, Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen.
I don’t remember exactly what post it was, but a while ago I was talking about a Nollywood Heartbreak and it saddens my heart to tell you that this was one of those movies. From the trailer/previews and the first few scenes of this movie, my expectations were sky high. I expected a lot (and dare I say) maybe too much. In reality, maybe no movie can reach that height but the fact is that the movie had potential to be pretty close to the sky in quality.
POTENTIAL is the keyword here. You start this movie expecting it to be phenomenal, breathtaking and revolutionary (I know I’m expecting too much). Long story short, at the end of the movie, I was happy that everything turned out well for the characters but also highly let down. I think that if the movie continued with the themes from the first part of the movie instead of resolving it in part one and exploring greed in part 2 &3, it would have been a better movie.
If they had made sure that Beverly Naya was made to marry Justus Esiri and explored her trials, it would have been great. The introduction of the usual Chiwetalu Agu and greed theme was lost on me.
-Originality: [3 out of 5] An original story.
-Predictability: [0 out of 5] The introduction of Chiwetalu Agu’s character into the movie, I’d have to say, was the beginning of a gradual let down for me with this movie. When I saw him, I had a pretty good idea of where the movie was headed and I was in no way disappointed. It’s time we diversified the roles we give certain actors before it becomes the only roles that they are capable of acting. Acting is no longer an art if it is repetitive because the challenge and the intellect used go away.
-Directing/Editing: [2 out of 5] At this point, I am compelled to acknowledge Oga Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen. But no one tells me what happens to Chiwetalu Agu at the end of the movie.
-Acting Quality: [1 out of 5] First of all American accents, Beverly Naya’s was ok. Desmond Elliot’s was manageable but Francis Duru…. choi! Nwoke’m please don’t try it again. Wetin!!! Terrible will be a huge understatement. Whenever he said ‘my dude’ ‘my guy’ or ‘my nigga’ I was like WTF (where’s the fridge), please stop. You’re killing it. Fail.
Secondly, Beverly Naya. One of Beverly Naya’s attributes includes a pretty face. However, I think her acting in Guilty Pleasures (though very brief) was a lot more convincing for me than her performance in this movie was. I could see her trying to act, it just didn’t seem very natural. Then again, I can also list a bunch of actresses that are not new in the industry at all yet they act a lot worse and aren’t even trying. Props to her for trying but she needs to attempt to make it more natural and she’ll go far. Finally, there was little to no chemistry between her and Desmond Elliot.
-Settings and Costumes: [4 out of 5] I LOVED (hmph, I ADORED) the entire traditional aspect. Amazing
-Video and Audio Quality [2 out of 5] For a couple of scenes towards the end (i.e. Francis Duru’s scene with Omoni in the woods), the lips began to move before the words came out.
-Soundtrack [3 out of 5] Good
How can I buy Home in Exile movie
Francis is a good actor…..a hit or a miss. Beverly……mba mba mba…..she cant act at all. She just cant act. I wanted to shave my hair with razor just by watching her act and ol boy….i didnt even complete the movie at all. Too many themes.
well ije will probably turn out great, however, i will soon watch this movie, maybe then i will have an opinion.
Yup, do come back when you’ve seen it
*Argh* I was typing a rather juicy comment and lost it….Mschew! Okay, let me recap.
I won’t even lie. As soon as I saw Francis Duru’s name as one of the cast members, I wanted to just say “Bye Bye,” I won’t watch this. But then, I saw that it was a Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen movie, and I thought “Hmmm! Maybe there’s hope o!” And then I saw your rating. That got me (‘cos as we all know NRI knows her onions…sorry VCDs…sorry Nollywood movies….LOL)
But, I cracked up laughing at your reaction to Francis Duru’s accent (Funny enough, I just blogged about this) and your “Where’s the fridge” comment just made my day! LOL! When you say connection between Beverly Naya (first time I am hearing her name) and Desmond Elliot, do you mean “Chemistry”?
So the soundtrack was that good (5/5)? I wonder when they’ll compile the top soundtracks and put them on a CD…Some of those soundtracks are quite good.
And I have also not yet seen IJE. Hopefully, my hair won’t turn fully gray before I see it. 🙂
Amen o!! lol. Thanks