It is always the nightmare of every rich man’s son to be given conditions before inheriting his father’s wealth. Tosin Igho’s “Seven” is brilliant and there are so many reasons why you should appreciate him as a director. And this is no reason you shouldn’t question some of his subplots and exaggerated scenes. Nowadays, it’s hard to see a Nigerian box office film that doesn’t ooze of brilliance especially after Genevieve’s “LionHeart” movie was considered for an Oscar award, although it was embarrassingly disqualified for falling short of the non-English dialogue requirement, but Nigerian movie directors and actors are beginning to put their nose in the grindstone and there is no reason they shouldn’t be proud of what they are doing.
Seven Review: Good script, great actors
Mr. Tayo, a real estate billionaire and philanthropist (played by Bimbo Manuel) has been diagnosed with a tumor that would eventually end his life too soon. While battling with his condition, he is consumed by the thought that he would be leaving his wealth in the hands of his irresponsible son Kolade (played by Efa Iwara) who is a drug addict and chronic womanizer. His fears intensified when his son was arrested by Law enforcement agencies following a drug raid.
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With time closing down on him like an anvil, Mr. Tayo included in his will that his son Kolade would have to spend seven days in Ajegunle (a notorious neighborhood in Lagos) where he was raised in hunger and thirst as a condition before he would access whatever he left behind. There were other conditions which include that Kolade would not receive help from anyone outside Ajegunle during the seven days he would spend there. Kolade’s move to Ajegunle was marred by hunger, bullies, a stint in the police cell and a murder attempt on his life from someone who was temporarily in charge of his father’s estate before his father’s chauffeur Ejiro played by Richard Mofe Damijo came to his rescue and offered he stayed at his place for the remaining days of his Ajegunle stay
Great dialogue, excellent delivery, and what didn’t work
Tosin Igho is not among the directors who would make you withdraw the last kobo in the bank and visit the cinema at the moment, but how he executed the plot of this movie beautifully shows that he might be the Steven Spielberg of Nollywood in the future, prophecies aside. Since he is also the one who wrote the story, I’m tempted to place a bet that he took his time to connect the scenes without leaving anything to chance.
It was surprising to Richard Mofe Damijo, an actor who is known for playing posh main roles in films as a chauffeur of Bimbo Manuel. In fact, his conversation with Bimbo when he asked him to will his Landcruiser to him since he was going to die with a brain tumor is a humor with balls. Did I forget to mention how RMD was also chewing the pidgin English with some easiness accompanied by the Ajegunle lifestyle that would want to make you pack your bags and relocate to AJ? If any Nigerian actor stands a chance of winning an Oscar, RMD is one of them. Maybe, he and Ramsey Nouah.
Efa Iwara the rapper turned actor put up a strong performance. The easiness at which he switched from the laps of luxury down to a beggar in Ajegunle when he was robbed has to be commended. His deliveries were excellent, he knew when to take his anger up and when to lower it without having you say that he is overreacting. The scenes where he was drifting his car in Abuja and Ajegunle when he was being chased would sure make you ask Google a question on how to drift a car. Efa Iwara is a great actor.
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Daddy Showkey impressed as Ejiro’s nemesis as his scenes triggered more actions, nose bleeding, and gun flashes. He truly embodied the lifestyle of the Ajegunle ghetto boy, something he shared with Ejiro before the latter dropped the tough guy thing to become a chauffeur. Almost every character impressed and if the movie was ever hyped before its production, it lived up to it.
Actually “Seven” really impressed but the scene where Kolade was carried out like a common criminal from his father’s company was somewhat too exaggerated. The fact that the orders did not come from his father but from an imposter looks like a joke Tosin Igho took too far. Perhaps he settled for this path to show viewers what is as stake if Kolade refuses to move to Ajegunle and stay for seven days. Particularly, I feel that cutting Kolade off from every financial benefit was enough to make him understand that without moving to Ajegunle he ends up with nothing.
Rating
Now I actually began this review by talking about Oscar Awards and Nigerian movies in the same sentence. The thing is that “Seven” is a great movie and the characters were carefully selected. It is one of these movies one would like to watch again and again then appreciate the growth that has taken place in the Nigerian acting industry.
I will rate this movie 8/10 because it was beautifully filmed and everyone owned their role. Again, because Ajegunle has never been beautifully illustrated in a movie than this.
Image source: Connect Nigeria
