To think I spent the last few days engaged in a debate with a few friends if some of the costly budget allocated to the marketing aspect of movie production is actually worth it, because if The Avengers - and similar movies - are already popular, why spend another $100 million selling to people who were already shaking in their boots to see it? Anikulapo not only buttresses my point but also justifies the need to engage in the commercial promotion of your product/service, especially when it's good. Because, let's face it, Netflix and director Kunle Afolayan did a great job of advertising and building anticipation for Anikulapo.
The first thing that strikes my mind when watching the movie is that it provides an amazing nostalgia that is brought upon you by the presence of some of my favourite Nollywood actors over the last three decades. An ensemble cast accompanied by one of Hollywood's serial villains, Nigerian-born Hakeem Kae-Kazim, who does the opposite of his fellow movie stars with his lack of utterances - none whatsoever- but delivers in his action. The sheer number of old A-list Nollywood stars had me racking my head, thinking about the numbers that would've gone into the production of this movie, however, after spending more than 120 minutes glued to the screen, I concluded that it was more than worth it - and besides isn't the aim of every storyteller to tell a good story irrespective of the cost?
After struggling to figure out what the genre of Anikulapo was or could be, following the release of its trailer earlier in the year - I initially thought it to be a story of one of the old deities in the Yoruba kingdom or a monarch from pre-colonial times in Nigeria. None of my initial assumptions turned out to be true, as Anikulapo is a wonderful tale of love, greed, and betrayal merged into an exciting watch that had me wondering if I hadn't placed my hand in someone else's popcorn pack.
So what makes Anikulapo a good watch and why do I suddenly feel the future of the Nigerian movie scene is in good hands, as long as the support and partnership with Netflix remains? Let's jump into it together.
The Good
From the first scene, the set design and beautiful portrayal of Yoruba culture along with its tradition immediately draw your attention. Anikulapo had me painting a mental picture of what the Old Oyo empire would have looked like, thanks to its wonderfully crafted sets and beautiful costumes on display. There's a popular saying - especially amongst ladies - "it's the little things that matter" and those little things like Yoruba trade tradition, mannerisms, and behavior (especially in the relationship between people, be it work, life, or recreational activities) are the things that particularly impressed me. And had me thinking, "oh! this is something I can relate to, because I had either seen or experienced them".
Credit should also go to the movie’s makeup department. And that’s embodied by none other than the artificial tribal marks to some of its characters; they’re neither too faint to not be noticed, nor are they too overt that they seem unoriginal and off-putting. It’s done just right.
Through the lens of the camera, Anikulapo gets a huge score from me, as the level of cinematography on display is on par - if not better - than some of the best works I've seen in the Nigerian movie space. The colour-grading and editing clearly depict the pre-colonial era - unlike one Nigerian movie that had the 1980s looking like 2022 - and the level of acting on showcase is of the utmost quality. Yes, it's an ensemble cast of some A-list Nigerian actors, however, we've seen some ensemble casts provide shambolic performances, which is not a factor of their talent or desire but perhaps, a genuine lack of direction from the director. Hence, another reason why more credit should go to Kunle Afolayan, becauseI can only think of him in a full headmaster mode - cane in hand, fury in eyes- during the production, and the fear of offending him pushes actors to want to do more.
Speaking of acting, Kunle Remi plays the role of a good lead and massively delivers but it is his co-star Bimbo Ademoye who steals the show. "The ball is his palette and the floor is his canvas", NBA head coach, Greg Popovich once said about recently retired Manu Ginobili, and trust me when I say the same can be said about Bimbo's performance in Anikulapo, though in non-basketball terms. She steals every moment in front of the camera, making it difficult for me to picture someone else playing that role any better. Like a big game player, one could jump to the conclusion that Bimbo had penciled in this movie on her calendar as the day the world - not just Nigeria or Africa- would start to give her flowers -not that she wasn't great prior to this movie. The presence of senior colleagues in the movie industry in Anikulapo didn't seem daunting for Bimbo and I am sure even they would've been impressed by her masterful delivery. And as for those "senior colleagues" they quietly and in a somewhat passive manner dropped a gentle reminder of their greatness and why the growth of the Yoruba movie industry is no accident.
What also makes Anikulapo an impressive movie is its willingness to take its time. You could accuse the movie of having a few scenes that do next-to-nothing, but there’s a commendable ‘we’ll get there’ air of patience that surrounds this film. It carefully crafts and constructs that backstory. Not to mention its brilliant portrayal of an anti-hero character. We know who Saro is, and understand how this ambitious clothes-maker can be corrupted by the power his gift came with. It was peak hubris, and this movie tells that tale well
The Bad
"With every action, there's an equal but opposite reaction", states Newton's third law of motion, or as some kinds would politely inform anyone who cares to listen, there's an opposite for every word, however, Anikulapo's positives don't necessarily produce equal amount negatives. You can find them in the movie but they do not necessarily stare at you through the two hours and 22 minutes runtime. To begin with, some of the Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) had me feeling cringy and somewhat disappointed. I'm sure there are people reading this who would say, CGIs are expensive and all-what-not, however, for a movie of that size and budget, I'm sure they could have found better CGI artists who would make skeletons look like actual skeletons and not make a vulture look like a robot bird.
Plus, Anikulapo misses in terms of tonal shifts. There are moments when we go from seemingly banal to outright dangerous, which is fine, except that the sense of danger doesn’t mean anything, it’s apparently meant to just seem tense for tension sake, before reverting to solemn once more.
Another flaw for me has to be makeup, don't get me wrong it was good but I've seen way better in Nollywood. Because, why does the King of Oyo's greybeard look like he applies blonde dye to it every morning and the fact that I could see that it was attached poorly still irks me as I write this. And since when did a man with tribal marks start parting away beards, unless that was the magic of that era or I know next to nothing about beards and massive tribal marks, that was a huge flaw.
Another burning question I've is why do people who have been on the run for weeks look like they could play a role in the next advert for skincare products and their clothes look like they're traveling along with their dry cleaner? The absentia of a good soundtrack and original score in Anikulapo also left me yearning for more. The Nigerian movie has yet to realize there was a good reason why Tope Alabi remains a hit amongst the older generation of people and that the presence of a properly crafted soundtrack and original score only helps to enhance a good movie.
And while some of the acting is on the money, there are parts when it feels like characters interacting and more like actors reading a line, the scene before eloping being a perfect example.
The Ugly
Not to sound too sensual, Anikulapo provided some of the best scenes or depictions of sex - for those that actually believe sex happens on a movie set, - I've seen in a Nigerian movie over the last few years, but rather than praise their bravery and acting, Nigerians have taken to social media to objectify, castigate, and body shame the actors involved. Not the fault of the movie by any means, it just shows once again that we have a long way to go as people and as a country. And this in turn plays a massive role in the growth and development of the movie industry in this country.
Conclusion
The presence of Netflix in the Nigerian movie business has become being looked on with scepticism for a bit, but perhaps the arrival of Amazon Prime has the platform sitting up and ready to up the ante, and that can only bode well for the future. Movies like Anikulapo only buttress my old point that there are stories to be told in Nigeria but the movie industry suffers from a lack of general support and funding.
Let me know what you think in the comments or on social media (Twitter: @onaboutnothing_ IG:@onaboutnothing), did you enjoy the movie, was it a good watch, and if you haven't seen it, please do and let us what your ratings are.
On About Nothing rating: 8/10
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