I recently had the pleasure of watching "Stranger," a Nigerian movie that features young actors taking on prominent roles. Set in the rural town of Ireti, the film showcases the flat landscape and plentiful plantations of the area. As someone who enjoys seeing more Nigerian films set in rural parts of the country, I was delighted to come across this movie.
Bimbo Oshin, who played a lead role in the film, was a nice surprise, and she did a fantastic job portraying her character. I was excited to see her on screen, as I hadn't seen her in many movies recently. Her performance is worthy of an AMVCA nod, but I'm not sure if the film is eligible for the present award season.
While watching the movie, I noticed a few errors, including the use of the new 100 naira note, which wasn't in circulation during the year the film was set. I also couldn't understand why Joseph acted as a translator for Adetola's mum when Dr. Macaulay, played by Chris Iheuwa, could speak three languages (albeit with halting French). Additionally, I wasn't impressed by how young Adetola's dreadlocks didn't grow throughout the years.
These inconsistencies could have been improved by a director with better attention to detail, but they don't detract from the story. However, Nollywood's obsession with fog machines is getting tiring to see, and I'd love to see better depictions of night shots, especially since this film was lacking in that regard. I also wasn't a fan of the dirty makeup look given to Adetola's mum, but I could tell that the film wanted to show off the makeup crew's work with its close shots of Adetola's wound. Finally, I wasn't a fan of the missionary message and acts in the film, but since they were relevant to the plot, I can't complain.
At the beginning of the movie, I thought I would be disinterested, but I became invested in the story of young and teenage Adetola. The story of adult Adetola wasn't as captivating, and his actions felt contrived, making the final parts of the film uninteresting. Teenage Adetola was subtly humorous, and young Adetola pulled off an impressive performance. Despite my lack of enthusiasm for adult Adetola, I appreciated the consistency in the facial features of the performers and their portrayal of Adetola's meek nature. The casting director deserves a nod for their decisions.
All three versions of Adetola faced obstacles in their lives, but their resilience and faith saw them through. These themes are central to the movie's message, which is one of perseverance. The film is direct and intentional, with cringe-worthy dialogue that could have been worked on during the screenwriting process. The soundtrack was also repetitive and became annoying at times. I also feel that the synopsis oversells the actual story in the film, and the title wasn't well-selected. The story is similar to the "Eze Goes to School" type of stories we were told to read in primary schools and had its motivational moments.
