Hello Nairaland, it's been ages


So, I'm back again for a movie that was so worth my time; House of Secrets by Niyi Akinmolayan. Please, if you have not seen this movie, I suggest you stop reading at this point, and immediately go and see it, because spoilers are ahead.

This is 1AM, but if you see this review by 3 AM, start watching the movie. This film was so good, I was in tears at the end, just because I had just finished watching one of the best movies I have seen in recent times. I no even cry because of the great acting, na as dem dey do closing credits, I just couldn't believe I watched a movie so put together. God bless Niyi Akinmolayan and everyone involved in bringing this movie to the fore. I had just finished watching a travesty of a movie last week about a stripper, so, I am so glad Niyi and his crew restored my faith in the Nigerian movie industry.

This movie was like biting into a bar of chocolate only for your tastebuds to be assaulted by the delicious taste of vanilla cream within. It was two stories in one, and f+++uck! Efe Irele and Shawn Faqua's chemistry was something deserving of a bigger screen. Now, without further ado, let's get into the movie.

Title: The House of Secrets
Cast:
Najite Dede
Efe Irele
Shawn Faqua
Kate Henshaw
Funlola Aofiyebi-Raimi
Femi Jacobs
Keppy Ekpenyong
Anee Icha
Emeka Nwagbaraocha

Writer(s): Niyi Akinmolayan, Dolapo Adigun
Producer(s): Victoria Akunjobi, Niyi Akinmolayan
Director: Niyi Akinmolayan
Run time: 1h 59Mins.


Plot: A troubled woman has to revive the memory of a secret document given to her by her husband, to stop a corrupt General from being democratically elected.

Review:

Hmmmmmm.....Brethren, this movie was a breath of fresh air. Everything was so well put together and thought out, I cried tears of joy as the end credits rolled out. The entire premise of the movie is that a woman is brought into a space and a group of people try to trigger her memory of a document placed in her care by her husband, but not only do we get to see her in her current state of some form of medicine-induced lunacy, we also get to see her in her younger years of vibrancy, with the man she so passionately loved.

There were so many things right with this movie. The first few minutes of the movie, is set up like it's the 90's, and we're introduced to Sarah (Najite Dede), a fairly old woman who engages in a rather interesting hobby of journaling about her neighbours, that happens to fetch her money on the side and has even made her quite the celebrity among readers of a newspaper column. But that's it, it's just a set up. In reality, Sarah is in fact, at least 20 years away from the 90's, and under watch by people who need to pull out a memory from her mind. A memory she can't access due to trauma.

Are you still reading before watching? You must enjoy spoilers, and I will thoroughly indulge you

Sarah has damning evidence about a military general, who also doubles as a reformed Democrat seeking Presidential office (does this sound familiar? No? Let's continue.... ), however, this evidence is not in her possession currently , and no one seems to know where it is. So, there is some level of nitpicking of her mind to try to draw it out.

Eventually, Sarah comes to find the entire set up is a farce, and she takes us on a trip through her memories. Ladies and gentlemen, we're in the 90's. Everything is in black and white, the Volkswagen Beetle is a staple car and the post office is still a thing. This is where young Sarah (Irele) works, and meets the dashing military officer, Panam Peters (Faqua)....I gotta say, this is one of the best "first meeting" scenes Nollywood has pulled off. Everything was giving; the double take when Panam spots the delectable Sarah, his intial speechlessness because the beauty choke, her casual countenance like she no dey feel the boy, the background music while they seemingly walk towards each other, his impatient friend urging him to not waste time with frivolities, her older co-worker urging her on to notice the handsome man checking her out. People of God, EVERYTHING GAVE!

And then we are taken through a montage of events; first date, first kiss, first romp (and what a romp it was!), some lovers playfulness and teasing...ah! Romance, is that you?

So, what went wrong? What happened to Panam? What does General Sanni Sofa (Ekpenyong) have to do with anything?

Make I no use spoilers kill una, but if you're feeling suicidal, we can continue ...long and short of it, Panam gave Sarah a document that was meant to expose Soffa as a saboteur, but as things always go with the military and power hungry folks, even supposed allies turn on you when the chips are down. This is the fate of Panam, Sarah and their young love.

I have to say, that even though I saw most of the twists come in, I still enjoyed watching them play out, and I find that so commendable. Yes, even though I know this person will turn out to be a certain way, make I no dey hiss like who dey stand for long ATM queue when it eventually happens.

I really enjoyed how they navigated the past in this movie. We've seen a lot of Nollywood movies where the story involves going back in time, and it is often poorly done, so, you can see a Sanwo-Olu campaign billboard even though they told us the year is 2002. The shooting was very careful, so, while they were able to show us multiple settings, there was no attempt to do skyline view or any of those shenanigans. They kept it simple and error-free, working mostly in interior spaces. I liked that the glass cups used in their date scene are indeed reminiscent of the 90's, it is an easily overlooked but very much appreciated extra touch.

The cinematography was beautifully done, and once again, dem no use skyline or that awful ikoyi bridge disturb our eyes at any point.

Between the music and the acting, I no even sure which one burst my head pass, but let me first touch on the music. I rarely ever comment on the music score for Nigerian movies, because a lot of times, the songs are underwhelming and unmemorable. So, for me to comment on the music, you know that ish was flames. Tolu Obanro, you're gifted. Walahi na you make me cry, because the music used in every scene down to the end was beautiful to the ears. Make una put those songs on Spotify, they deserve to be streamed. Every song was placed in the right scene, even the ones that were just instrumentals....I fit cry again as I dey reason am. Prime Video should throw more money at you guys, y'all put in the work!

Now, to the performances. Nobody was found wanting, although some people carried more than others. So, I will specifically be speaking on the three lead characters. Najite Dede, you ate! You devoured! What a stellar performance! The emotions, the expressions, the speech, hei father! You can just tell the writer had her in mind when writing Sarah. It is not easy to act out lunacy, memory loss or anything of such, so, watching her performance truly was something of joy. I don't even have the words to fully express the brilliance onscreen, so, let me jump to the ones I have words for.

Shawn Faqua Omo mi! This was heads, shoulders and abdominal muscles, your best performance in a movie! Ah! I was enthralled! Guy, you act pieces! AMVCA, call this brutha, because that is an award-winning performance right there. And his leading lady, the ever gorgeous, never disappointing, unrelenting neck presser, Efe Irele, nearly suffocated us with her charming beauty. She was coy when called upon, strong, firm, emotional....they complemented each other so well, like Aki and Pawpaw, Jack and Rose and other iconic duos, Panam and Sarah will go into my own history books. Just for them, I wish Nigeria had our own version of MTV movie awards where we can give fun awards like Best Kiss and Best Chemistry, because Shawn and Efe would have dusted competition. They were everything you'd expect in a vintage couple; he was the brave, assuring military man and she was his supportive damsel. The person responsible for casting, you will never experience waist pain.

I really enjoyed this movie. I liked the attention to details, like in the scene where Sarah reunites with her son, I liked that Panam's picture was in the background, as if watching over them and it was including him in the reunion....oh wait! You thought I wasn't dropping anymore spoilers? Shebi na you wan read am finish, we don reach ending O.

Now, as they say, nothing is perfect and while this movie and the entire production tethered on perfection, there were a few shortcomings, like with the subtitles that sometimes didn't follow what was being said word for word. While this isn't a shortcoming, I didn't like that a Nollywood production was aligning with Hollywood anti-Russia agenda by using them as co-conspirators in usurping the Nigerian democracy, please, let's be remembering that while Russia is the West's enemy, our own is the UK; that is the country most likely to collude against Nigerian interests. God bless. I don't know about the FX for blood splatters used in this movie, it is something that can be overlooked when considering the movie as a role, but it did look a bit off.

Now, a few other little things I found enjoyable; Kate Henshaw's portrayal of Mrs. Eket was reminiscent of her character in Candlelight and she played it very well, I liked that the guy who plays Daniel (Nwagbaraocha), Panam and Sarah's child, does in fact, share some resemblance with his father and the complexion of his mother, once again, good casting choice. The fight scenes were nice, much preferable to a few I've seen so far this year. And the ending image...ha! Creative director, or whoever came up with it, you suppose dey share sense inside National stadium. Easily the most thoughtful ending image I've seen in a Nollywood movie. They really captured the essence of the entire story.

Overall, House of Secrets is a great watch. It touches on themes of love, patriotism, betrayal, mental health, corruption etc.

Watch or Bin: Watch it o, watch it abeg. Pay for Prime Video and stream it, don't even use any illegal downloading site or Xender. They worked hard enough to earn your stream.

Rating: Solid 8.5/10

If you bothered to see the movie before reading this review and the spoilers within, what do you think of it?

K

I always love and look forward on your reviews,waiting on when you will do a review on the Black Book and tag me when you do please