ALEX FROM OIL & GAS (MOVIE REVIEW)

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SYNOPSES

Tamara (Scarlet Gomez) & Tonye (Detola Jones) are sisters. They are in their 30s with the former a wee bit older than the latter. They find themselves having to navigate life on their own terms as their parents have for the longest dealt with their own marital issues, which made for a toxic environment.

While Tamara has got to a crossroads with her deadbeat & narcissistic husband, Claude (played by Okey Uzoeshi) and is forced to make a drastic decision, their son is a major factor for consideration, Tonye on the other hand, appears to be unlucky with love till she manages to find a match on a dating app.

This would then metamorphose into a catalyst for a twist and turn as the sisters find themselves in a web that sees secrets, lies, and a situation that threatens their bond.

MOVIE REVIEW

This movie is very entertaining. It is super relatable as one is effortlessly drawn into the world of almost all the characters as a result of an amazing performance from about 95% of the cast.

It’s hard to choose who my best act was in the film as the writer and director of the story bestowed an incredible balance of screen time & weight on the two lead actresses.

While Scarlet gave me a heartwarming experience of a struggling woman trying to survive abuse, Detola…Detola gave me enough of a Genevieve-effect. It felt like I was watching the legend herself.
The texture, tone & sound of her voice! Should we even talk about the bossiness in this film? That’s exactly how Genevieve would have interpreted that role.

I liked seeing Okey Uzoeshi take on a mean role here. He played it believably well. The guy that played their cousin did awesome, too. I admire his camera presence.

Now, shall we talk about the two guys!!! It’s probably my first time seeing or noticing both of them in a film, and I can’t resist their charm. I’m completely sold.

Obinna Okenwa, who played Nnamdi, is cool. I find the character of Nnamdi to be a walking red flag. His mood swings and insecurities are not really ideal for a healthy relationship if you ask me.

Shamz Garuba as Ishaya. Guy’s such a smooth talker and a loverboy. He’d make a good actor for a psychopath role in a psychological thriller film cause you won’t see him coming, and I’m pretty sure he’ll kïll it too! He gave me some African-American Hollywood vibes!

Eseosa, who portrayed Zuri, is just such a crazy girl. She was all out from the get-go and got what she deserved! Should we talk about the girls’ mother? That woman played that role to perfection! Wait! Are there really negligent mothers like her in real life? So clueless about their kids!? Wow!

The storyline was beautiful, and execution was near seamless. However, as with nearly all movies and everything in life, this had its flaws or lapses giving rise to some questions viz:

▪︎ The Duration: I'm not sure why the director decided to stretch this into three parts. For a TV program, it works to favor their air-time. But for a YouTube movie, it could be a turnoff for impatient viewers, especially because the entire story & plot could have been delivered in 1hour 50minutes or a little over that.

▪︎ Subtitling: There were some delays in the subtitles and sometimes too, mistakes in names. For instance ,Tamara cries* meanwhile, the character in view is Tonye.

▪︎ The Office Romance: So you mean to tell me that with an open-plan setting, those two could get involved in an audacious office romance for that long, and no one caught them? Even the person who did and spoke up was made to look crazy? Please make it make sense!

▪︎ What exactly was Tamara’s job? Or did I miss it? If I did, then it wasn’t firmly established. As for her son, who was he staying with in the location mentioned? And then, the Cousins…didn’t they have a life of their own? I would have loved to see some subplots about their own story. I mean, the duration of the movie should have been able to accommodate this, right?

▪︎ On at least two occasions, some characters were made to seem invisible to others in a scene when clearly they weren’t. The most obvious one was really annoying (wouldn’t want to go into details).

▪︎ Suspense: There wasn’t sufficient suspense or intrigue built around the “Alex” character. Maybe intentional, but I figured it out from the outset. Anyone could, to be honest. What later became of Claude?

Nevertheless, I loved how this movie took an unpredictable approach as it gave a more realistic sequencing of events leading up to a relatable ending! But the kisses, though! Please don’t watch this with kids cos there were some romantic exchange going on every now and again!

Overall, this was a beautiful piece and an enjoyable relaxing watch…got me smiling for the most parts. A big welldone to the cast and crew for a job well done

This comes recommended at the rating of 6/10.

I hope that this was interesting to read. Thanks for coming around.