Citation

It's a movie with quite a compelling plot I understand that the director sets out to draw us in as the movie goes deeper, but he failed at that by adding some unnecessary scenes and dragging some of it which resulted in it being very slow and gradually uninteresting for the most part You want to like the lead actress and root for her because of her obvious precarious situation, but the acting is not very convincing, nor endearing this failing to make us fully sympathise with her. She doesn't even speak the local language (Yoruba) properly, then why bother?!! Plot holes are so numerous (I won't mention them, to prevent spoilers), it makes it difficult to watch. The movie is so slow and isn't really captivating The cinematography was very fine and the location management was just as good, they took some really nice shots. The set decorations and costume design would have been very good too, but for the laughable Merkin-like wig they had the Professor wear (I mean!!) The movie had a lot of promise, also coming from one of the best directors in Africa, one in whom we'd expect nothing short of quality, but it ended up being below par, and all for 2½ hours? Common!

Citation delivers on giving us a logical representation of what happens in the real world to a large percentage of the youth, particularly students, and more particularly those of the female gender.

It portrays the flaws in the educational system, the power of the judicial system, the strength in a positive united voice and agenda, and the fault in our so-called stars. It's narrative sequence and epic flashbacks deserve honorable mentions as they draw us deep into realms unfamiliar and virtually unseen to the distant eye.

Morever, at such a sensitive time as this in the year 2020; it butresses the point of power in the people; and most importantly echoes this particular quote- "The government should be afraid of the people, and not the other way around" .

The manipulation, the jury, the tales of well-favored lies, together with the splendid academia, fun, celebrations and music all make this movie a must see!

This movie had the potential to be a great movie but lengthy runtime and other pointless elements ruin the movie's noble intentions. There are some superfluous scenes that drag to the core and add nothing to the storyline (concert and the other lecture scenes). I think about half an hour could have been shaved off here and there and by tightening the film, it might have had a slightly better impact. I was expecting the ending to leave an impact and give a triumphant feeling but sadly, none of that happened. The flashbacks, which happen to be the MOST important scenes, are only featured far and in between. With such thin and tad predicable plot, they should have gone with a more linear storyline and only then would this movie leave a resounding impact.

The acting is actually a bit bland, nothing outstanding. Temi Otedola in the lead role is ok at best, she's unable to carry the movie like she's supposed to. Ini Edo played Moremi's 'Auntie' I mean friend, her character is lively and fun, she lit up the scene with her presence. Jimmy Jean-Louis played the two-faced, sexual predator Professor N' Dyare, his performance is actually decent, but that wig is horrible man, what were they thinking?

I like the look of the film, it's quite stunning, thanks to the beautiful cinematography, the fantastic camera-work that captures the amazing sceneries and characters emotions with good, eye-level seeking shots. The music fits with the film's mood and is soothing to the ear.

Overall, the message Citation is trying to pass to the general public is golden, it's relevant and still rings true in today's society.

More than 11% of all level students experience rape or sexual assault! Only 20% of female students report such incident to authorities. Even though 2/3rd of college students experience sexual harassment in campus, 89% of colleges report no such incident on campuses. (Source: American Association of University Women) And the data in a country like Nigeria is quite appalling! "The majority (69.8%) of the respondents had been sexually harassed, with the main perpetrators being male classmates and lecturers. And requests to do something sexual in exchange for academic favors is 32.2%." (Source: National Library of Medicine) The story contextualizes this horrid issue. It is based on the true events. Good cinematography esp few sceneries from Cape Verde and Senegal... .However, shorter runtime could have made this movie crispier. Also, the script writing lacks subtleness with somewhat middle-of-the-road dialogues. But it is still a MUST watch movie as it still captures the quintessence of the issue and delivers a clear message.

Jimmy Jean-Louis saved the day😃 Citation could have been more stimulating if only it had deviated from the norm...

DELICIOUS

-Jimmy Jean-Louis is a master at his craft. He was deceptive, seductive, smart, elegant, and malignant, he was just splendid 🙌🏾

-The storytelling opened up to a vibrant scene that kept us hooked and set the narrative for the rest of the movie

-The character Lucien was well designed; he had lots of facets that it was hard to decipher who he really was, even at the end, we still felt there were many more dark areas about him

-A good awareness of student sexual harassment

BLAND

-As the lead role, Temi Otedola was not confident when delivering her lines; you could tell through her eyes that she was so uncomfortable😣

And Ini Edo was quite synthetic, a bit overdoing it...

-Is Citation taking place in the past? We were a little confused due to professor Lucien's hairstyle and the color grading; they both appeared antique

-The scenes in Senegal were a bit too stretched making it look like a touristic advertisement rather than complementing the story

-At the end of the day, we've seen tons of stories similar to Citation that it wasn't gripping. A touch of suspense and innovation could have raised the bar.