A Private Storm : How stormy was it ?

Movie Title : A Private Storm
Starring : Ramsey Noah, Omotola Jalade Ekehinde, John Dumelo, Ngozi Ezeonu, Ufuoma Ejenobor

Directed by : Lancelot Odua Imasuen & Co- directed by Ikechukwu Onyeka

Genre : Romance / Drama
Hmm… scrumptious breakfast in bed… lovely flowers and roses that summon an unpretentious smile, stemming from the highly powered love flames dancing in your heart…clothes to the laundry (goodbye to sore bums and rough palms!),… hello to the world of fashionmania with various designer wears, shoes, bags, wrist watches, transforming your looks from this to…that (ha! it's not Genevieve's endorsement of Mud)…hey, from simplicity to magnetizingly alluring…lots of pampering and romantic escapades from your man… so give me one good reason why you wouldn't ensure that on d-day you'll say “I do”. All the ladies who agree, please put your hands up… 'thank you'. I'm sure the typical Naija man would scoff at this and declare 'rubbish, this is Africa not Fantasy Island, the sooner they snap out of it the better”….do I hear a yes from the guys?. Ha ha! but seriously can Naija guys be that romantic without being pretentious?

Ingenuity writer and producer, Vivian Ejike (Where the Heart lies, Silent scandals 2009), in her latest work projects the reality of such unfeigned love, but one encapsulated in dark behavioural patterns unleashed intermittently at the victim, 'his heart throb'. Alex (Ramsey Noah of The Perfect Church 2010) is a handsome, romantic dude who lavishes tons of love on his fiancée, Geena (Omotola Jalade Ekehinde of Ije: The Journey 2010). She's a writer who gets her career nipped in the bud due to Alex's uncheckmated, on the spur of the moment angry tantrums. A potential 'I.E.D' (intermittent explosive disorder) personality, pumped up by the green eyed monster and darn possessiveness manifesting in hasty decisions, barking commands, assaults and the pinnacle of cowardice… battery on helpless love ensnared Geena.

The once sweet romantic tale suddenly turns sour and threatens to choke her very existence, but Alex is quick to apologize for his tactless moves, incorporating swaying responses for his actions “I love you so much, I'm sorry, I swear to God I won't do it again”, just to keep her by his side at all cost. Shrouded with heightening bitter experiences rooted in teenage anger, distrust which effortlessly invokes the ungentlemanly conduct, Alex's past threatens to drag their relationship into the murky waters of oblivion.

Jason (John Dumelo of controversial gay themed movie, Men in love 2010 and AMAA 2011 nominee for Best supporting actor in a Male role) lives in Abuja and sustains the popularity rhythm of the 'platinum Magazine', pioneered by his late father. He's got a knack for hopping in and out of bed and failed relationships, including one with his girlfriend, Ufuoma Ejenobor (star of TV series “My Mum and I”, and nominee for Best Actress golden nymph awards at the Monte Carlo TV festival in France 2010, the series itself was nominated with Top International series such as Mad Men, Lost, The Office). She makes a fleeting appearance, and the escalating problematic relationships even prompts him into reading the 'Ten do's and don'ts of Commitment'. His mother (Ngozi Ezeonu of Champions of our Time 2010) is also eager to see him settle down. Find the right woman he must! and somehow reconcile with his long lost brother….

How well did Vivian cross her T's and dot her I's ?….all that in a minute. In painting the visual art work of ideal scenes, depicting romantic gestures, she deployed ingenuity using the petals spread in a linear pattern on the floor, which formed an arrow pointing to the love symbol on the bed, and of course the 'will you marry me' words inscribed on the cardboard hung on the gate. Vivian chose to be a non-conformist , breaking away from the usual strategies adopted by 'wanna be husbands' as projected by other script writers. I particularly liked the interplay of the soundtrack with Jason's (John Dumelo's) reaction to finding his empty wardrobe save for the right pairs of his shoes. Did u miss that part?...sound track plays as he approaches the wardrobe...he opens it…soundtrack stops…“what!” he exclaims… sound track plays immediately… now that was a good effect… I call it 'playing around with the sound track”.

Miniature pints of comedial relief were infused into the flick (the wardrobe clean up & the bra embarrassment at the office). The use of Super impositions inter cut with party scenes was good, and the choice of the younger characters of Alex/John were certainly passable, obviously revealing the meticulous attitude adopted in avoiding a 'miscast'. The emotional crescendo is seen when Geena begs Richie while on her knees outside his car, to take her away from Alex's house…finito!.

Now to the flaws… the movie was deficient of the emotional nutrients needed to feed our emotional sensibilities, the tear ducts (especially ladies), establish a strong nexus with our hearts via an emotional bridge built with materials of 'realistic battery, aftermath reactions' to hit our souls' eye. Threats, a slap here, another one there, did not fully unveil the menace behind the theme. It wasn't enough for Geena to tell Uju( Christine Yetunde Ajisafe of Game Theory 2009, Rise of Treble – Ode to Bass 2010).. her friend “ black eyes, sores, broken wrist caused on the road, they're from Alex”…. I mean not even a shadowy black eye, swollen piggy cheeks to convince us a teeny little bit? Or wasn't there any 'trained special make up effects' personnel on set to depict the aftermath of a convincing battery?. Was Omotola being shielded from being beaten, not even once in the entire flick?.

The use of say, 'the over cranking technique' to generate a slow motion of the battery, the rage on Alex's face, Geena's reaction to the battery, bleeding nose, cuts, possible shoving, dragging her on the floor while she bumps into things, screaming and resisting, would have scored on points big time…(Omotola's fans don't get me wrong, it's not wickedness! , it's acting….make belief!, which has to be convincing. Besides, there are foreign flicks that have depicted real battery incidents that I'm sure some movie goers have seen as well. . Let's wait and view Leila Djansi's “Sinking Sands”( net budget of $1.5million) which dealt with the issue of battery ( only difference is that the victim was married in the flick). Omotola nonetheless, gave a good account of herself. She's co-starring with John Dumelo and Hollywood actress Nia Long in Leila Djansi's (Ghanaian director, whose got 9 nominations for AMAA 2011) movie, 'Ties that Bind'. However, Omotola's controversial picture taken with rap artiste B- Taylor at the 2011 Grammy has caused tongues to clack at an alarming rate. Whatever the case, she's also set to launch powerfully into the international world via the singing path.

Ramsey Noah certainly knows his onions well when it comes to stepping into the shoes of a character he has been paid to momentarily become. Of course he's got the 'AMAA Best actor 2010' in his kitty to prove it. His acting dexterity could not pull down the walls of limitation set up by the acts in the script and possibly the need to support our Omo sexy from being hurt. I liked his facial expressions which easily conveyed a sort of personality disorder to us… one moment he's the sweet and caring fiancé…the next his hands are shaking, he looses control, wacks her…then switches personality. Some of his colleagues in the Industry are loosing/have lost steam, but Ramsey seems to have been re-fired in a bid to increase his career span.

Two of Nollywood's finest directors were involved in piloting the affairs. Lancelot Odua Imasuen (Home in Exile, Bent Arrows 2010), is a house hold name in Nollywood and was the main subject in the documentary 'Nollywood Babylon' produced by filmmakers Ben Adelman and Samir Mallal which was screened in over twenty film festivals. He's been a guest at the BBC studios and at the white house during Black history month in 2008. Ikechukwuu Onyeka co- directed the movie, his memorable works such as 'Unforseen', 'Eagles bride', with the latter bagging five AMAA nominations in 2006 and winning in one category), has seen him rise in the directing ranks.

The use of both directors for a non-convoluted, predictable, non-combative, non- technical flick, in the absence of freeze framing actions, or stunts was nothing but a shunt to further increase the rating of the flick on the viewers movie gauge. I don't see why Alex in one scene had to pick the trash can and put it beside the printer to show viewers the crumpled pieces of paper he's dumped in it. A simple angle shot for example would have discharged such inappropriate move. Even the 'let go of mine and I'll let go of yours' words inscribed on the paper and left on Uju's car wasn't easily picked out by the audience, probably nature's clash with the cameras from her 'P.O.V', then again a quick zoom would have done that, but that was covered up by Uju reeling it out. Sound treatment was not properly done, my ear drums kept complaining about the unwarranted gallopy sounds It was being mercilessly subjected to.

Vivian Ejike who combines writing with producing has recorded successes with her previous movies especially silent scandals raking in nominations from Zafa awards London, best of Nollywood awards 2010, Ghana movies Awards 2010, and presently from Amaa 2011 for this flick( best makeup, best actor in supporting role, best Nigerian film which is in hot contention with Tunde kelani's 'Maami', Niyi Akanni's 'Aramotu', Mahmood Ali-Balogun's 'Tango with Me' and Jeta Amata's' 'Inale'.

Despite its flaws it's one that can be rated as a good movie by Nollywood standard. Would I recommend this movie…well, yes. Would I like to watch it again…. No!. A private storm adopts a non- fantastic visual style. Somewhere between conception and ideal execution which could have been incontrovertibly realistic, emotionally stimulating, endearing, visually opulent, and within the league of dynamic crystal clear professionalism…merely turned out to be… Pedestrian!

Augusta Okon is a lawyer, writer and movie critic, [email protected] /facebook.com/ augusta.okon

Rating for A Private Storm – 3 points
Points' Rating Guide
5- Classic
4- very good
3- good
2- fair
1- An apology