THE BEAUTY OF BROKEN THINGS (MOVIE REVIEW)

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To all Sickle Cell Anemia Survivors & Cömbantants…
To families and loved ones of Sickle Cell Warriors…
To those who have lost loved ones to this terrific condition…
This movie is dedicated to you…

Spoiler Alert

Titled “The Beauty of Broken Things” as produced by Bolaji Ogunmola (also starring as Didi) and directed by Great Valentine Edochie (also starring as Dr. Chris), this movie tells the story of two persons predominantly…

On the one hand is David (portrayed by Michael Dappa), a talented artist who prefers his own company and, as a result, spends most of his time indoors painting to his heart’s content.

This was especially so after his girlfriend Salewa (played by Ayomide Adefuye) broke things off with him because her family didn’t want her spending the rest of her life with a person who’s a sufferer and a carrier.

On the other hand is Didi (already mentioned above). Didi is a single lady who has “seen shege in man hand” (quoting her words). She has consequently given up on love.

On her friend’s 35th birthday party, Sophie (portrayed by Bisola Aiyeola) would then try to matchmake Didi and David, being that David is friends with Tega (played by Charles Born). Tega is Sophie’s boyfriend.

After much back and forth, the duo would then hit things off and become inseparable. Love is in the air! Butterflies in the belly. Didi is willing to give love another chance, but she’s oblivious of David’s condition.

Tina Mba plays David’s mum as Mrs. Ayodele, and she’s overprotective of her son as she believes he’s fragile.

Bimbo Akintola plays Didi’s mum as Mrs. Oche, and she can’t wait for Didi to get married. The pressure is pressuring and chokïng for Didi.

Will David open up about his condition to Didi? What would happen IF Didi ever finds out about David’s condition? Will she stay, or will she stray? Will her mother be in support, or will she kick against it?
It's up to you to find out.

My Take:

Bolaji is one very intentional producer, and I see how much she strives to make a statement with her movies.
I also see the efforts at improvement in production designs movie after movie…kudos to her and her team!

This movie is interesting, highly relatable, engaging, compelling, poetic, and educative. The title was very well represented and interpreted.

Who else noticed the fidgety toy David had with him in some of the scenes? Yes! That’s how much I noticed Bolaji’s intentionality.

It's not the first of its kind. However, the message herein can not be overemphasised. If a person is in a relationship that could lead to marriage, please know that compatibility is a core issue! Please do not overlook it “to avoid story that touch!”

To this effect, therefore, I do not really blame Salewa for her decision. She may have been of AS genotype or thereabouts. At which point, medically, it’s a NO-NO for a marriage relationship with a person with the SS genotype.

Studies and experience have shown that hospital trips following crisis or episodes of sickle cell patients are as emotionally draining as they are financially exhausting for them and their families.

I loved the portrayal of friendship between Didi and Sophie. That was so natural. The resemblance between Bisola and Bolaji though…are they related?

Is it just me, or does Charles Born, who played Tega, kinda look like Kenzy Udosen (actor & content creator)?

The subtle advert for Bisola’s Black Girl Magic (BGM) was equally on point! The soundtrack was soothing to the ears…really cool.

The nostalgia I felt seeing Bimbo Akintola grace my screen can’t be measured! The fact that she played mother to Bolaji just speaks volumes for how much Nollywood has evolved. She kïlled her role. Tina Mba did, too.

Observation/Criticism:

This movie, though entertaining and all, it, however, started on a really slow and weak note from my point of view. That opening scene didn’t do it for me at all.

Ayomide, who played Salewa, appears to be an upcoming actress. I guess she could use some brush offs and more coaching. I believe in growth.

The soundtrack in some scenes kept interfering with the audio so much so that one could hardly make out what the actors were saying. I had to rewind severally.

Michael Dappa, wasn’t even helping matters. At some point, I was getting pissed from how he was talking.

Also, the copyright water mark at the foot of the video could do with some fading features. It was getting in the way of some texts, especially at the very start of the film, and remained so till the end. I guess that was an oversight during postproduction/editing.

Some scenes took longer than necessary and added nothing to the plot. A case in point is where David is alone painting at the start of the movie. That took too long!

I have huge respect for Val, but why is he always playing doctor or pastor in BO’s movies. It’s becoming redundant at this point. He mustn’t feature, or is it something to do with their contracts? Ok then! He can as well diversify his roles, right?

Costume/wardrobe and hair weren’t that great, too! Bolaji’s outfits weren’t really giving. Tina Mba’s first appearance hair did not flatter her face. It seemed forced.

Furthermore, Didi’s mum’s sudden turn around was too swift! For how she suddenly changed, to me, it wasn’t built up to a believable level. Nonetheless, she gave it her uniqueness, though.

And how did Didi not know about her mum’s condition all her life? The expression on her face, too, when her mum told her about her own secret didn’t correspond or match up with the shocking piece of information, especially for the fact that she had no idea prior.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed watching this! Everyone, cast, and crew did their thing and delivered to the best of their abilities. This just needed fine tuning in more places than one. I am looking forward to subsequent projects.

This comes at a rating of 6/10.

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