Though it stumbles significantly in its third act, What About Us? highlights the importance of love, commitment, and open communication.
By Seyi Lasisi
Watching Nigerian preacher Apostle Emmanuel Iren’s self–financed What About Us? reminded me of moments spent during Sunday school services, watching Christian–based films with Biblical characters. What stood out is the fierceness of these films in passing didactic messages: Repentance, redemption, heaven, and hell. I went into What About Us? expecting to identify the markers of a faith-based movie. But the Kayode Kasum–directed family drama had different plans.
Zainab (Folu Storms), a work-from-home wife, and Jaiye (Uzor Arukwe), a physically and emotionally absent husband, are the centre of attention in Ife Olujuyigbe’s script. Years into their once-stable and loving marriage, their union is experiencing setbacks. Zainab, or Zay as she is mostly called, suspects and accuses Jaiye of infidelity.
Neme (Marycolette Unamka), Jaiye’s assistant, is swiftly and fittingly branded the mistress. Imade (Teniola Aladese), Zay’s friend who doubles as a visual artist, is convinced of Jaiye’s faithfulness. It is in this strained atmosphere that David (Kunle Remi) and Jessica (Atlanta Bridget Johnson) meet Zay and Jaiye as neighbours.
Within days, David’s friendship with Zay blossomed swiftly. Both remote workers, married or engaged to partners who supposedly starve them of attention and care, find comfort in each other’s company. By connecting deeply and actively breaking the monotony of their remote jobs, Zay and David’s relationships with their partners come under threat.
As a remote worker, one of the enjoyable aspects of the experience, What About Us? highlights the mundanity associated with remote work. The script effectively explores remote workers’ introversion, isolation, loneliness, and the blurred boundaries between their personal and professional lives. Zay’s rapid connection with David is subtly rooted in their shared experience as remote workers.
Guided by Kasum, Zay and David’s chemistry is believable. Their initially awkward meeting evolves into something admirable and fun-filled. The restraints on their countenance and body movements dissipate as their closeness grows. Arukwe and Aladese’s acting is tolerable. With Johnson and Unamka largely absent from the screen, it’s difficult to assess their performances. Acting aside, the film boasts a tidy soundtrack that effectively enhances the atmosphere of each scene.
In its third act, the film abruptly crumbles as new, unconvincing information is introduced to supposedly explain Jaiye’s absenteeism. Up until this point, the audience can feel the gradual shift in mood and emotions between the estranged husband and wife. Given over an hour and twenty scenes, the film and Olujuyige’s script have ample opportunity to subtly hint at the reasons for Jaiye’s detachment from his family.
Additionally, What About Us? has ample opportunity to develop detailed backstories for its characters. However, it neglects these crucial elements in favor of focusing on the developing relationship between Zay and David. As a result, the initial satisfaction and admiration for the film are replaced by displeasure and contempt. The third act presents a bizarre and unsatisfying conclusion that undermines the previously strong narrative.
Knowing Apostle Iren funded the film, one would expect an overt propagation of Christian dogmas and principles. However, throughout the film, there is an absence of the usual Bible-laden dialogue and characters. Similar to Bodunrin Sasore’s God Calling (2018) and Breath of Life (2023), and Yemi Morafa’s The Wait (2021), the film avoids being overly preachy. Unlike the militant and fear-inducing approach of earlier faith-based filmmakers, these newer films are departing from such rigidity.
In the vein of these mentioned films, Kasum’s film adopts a more relaxed approach to conveying Christian ideologies compared to earlier faith-based movies. Instead of the predictable negative outcomes for dissenters and positive ones for conformists, these films portray their characters as complex individuals grappling with internal conflicts, societal pressures, and their spiritual journeys. It is fitting to say these films have established a new paradigm.
Though it stumbles significantly in its third act, the film highlights the importance of love, commitment, and open communication, not just for married couples but also for lifelong friendships. In conclusion, despite the Nigerian film industry’s relentless output in 2024, a pervasive sense of mediocrity lingers. Films like What About Us? suffer from underdeveloped scripts and often lackluster performances. At best, they feel like first drafts in need of substantial revision. As 2024 draws to a close, the dearth of well-crafted Nollywood films and series remains a pressing issue.
Rating: 2/5
(What About Us? is currently showing in the cinema)
Seyi Lasisi is a Nigerian creative with an obsessive interest in Nigerian and African films as an art form. His film criticism aspires to engage the subtle and apparent politics, sentiments, and opinions of the filmmaker to see how they align with reality. He tweets @SeyiVortex. Email: seyi.lasisi@afrocritik.com.