Scars

There are some actors who you are willing to watch any movie for and Mike Ezuruonye definitely tops the list. This is because no matter how drab, unreal or unbelievable the plot is, with Mike in it it becomes conceivable – or maybe it’s just from a female perspective?

Scars is the story of a mother and daughter who are trying to recover from the death of the husband/father after three years. The daughter, played by Okawa Shaznay, meets a man that she falls for but he is not all that he seems to be. As the story progresses we find out what his motives are and what his history is with this family.

This movie does a few things right. It has a beautiful line up from Mike to Clarion to Zack and everyone in between. The three mentioned especially bring a certain appeal to the film simply because of their already established talent. I was most excited about the prospects of seeing Zack Orji again in this movie but unfortunately he only had 2 or 3 scenes.

Mike Ezuruonye as the antagonist in this movie was splendid and easy to love, however, there were a few flaws with the character. His character was always quite forward and presumptive (ranging from the proposal scene to the Ajah Pool scene) and yet he was always right and things always worked out for him. This bit made it seem a bit too unreal even though it was based on a true life story.

Okawa Shaznay plays a major role in this movie and does fairly well. However, there is a certain methodical aspect to her acting where it seems like her performance is calculated and step by step as opposed to fluid and flowing from within. In many of her scenes, you can count the motions that she is going through and tell when each phase ends and the next one begins.

One major drawback of this movie is the story itself. It is based on a true life story and it is cohesive however it lacks that pull to draw you in. If you have ever seen a Frank Rajah classic, then you understand the feeling of immersion that comes with a Frank Rajah film. That feeling though was never really achieved in this movie. It felt more like a Pascal Amanfo movie with a lot of different things happening at the same time as opposed to a Frank Rajah film where things follow in a straight discernible direction that leads to an inevitable, yet endearing, end.

At the end of this movie, we get a surprising end (very Pascal Amanfo-y) but it does not really have any effect on the viewer as it should. The last few scenes seemed rush and the morale we are left with is “if he’s too good to be true then he is just too good to be true”.