Uno: The F in Family
Ebuka Njoku made his debut with Yahoo, a film that comments on social issues related to Internet fraudsters commonly known as ritualists. The subject matter is interesting but the movie was poorly executed. The same goes for his latest work, Uno: The F in Family a drama about family, where Keezyto acts as Junior.
Ten years after leaving home, Junior (Keezyto) comes back to Enugu State together with his fiancee, Ruky (Temi Ojo), whom he brought from abroad. However, his siblings Ada (Sophia Chisom) and Gozie (DJ Capello) resent him for taking their parents’ attention and emotional resources away. Their parents Uzuakpundu (Nkem Owoh) and Deaconess (Jennifer Eliogwu) are now left with no choice but to decide whether or not they will accept their prodigal son who has also come home with a Muslim girl.
Acceptance is the main theme of this story on various levels; it can be seen through different characters in different situations. For instance, apart from having to live within certain limits imposed by self-acceptance after becoming mother at an early age Ada must also learn how to deal with her motherhood itself while still being seen as someone who made mistakes when she was young like everyone else around them knows what happened between those two kids then so why don’t they just tell us already we want answers now? could it be that there isn’t any truth behind those allegations? And if that’s true then whose responsibility should it have been all these years?
There are many internal conflicts here too which make Uno: The F in Family rich soil for drama indeed! Howeve its handling leaves much t be desired from start till finish. Why did Ebuka Njoku choose such a static environment where things just happen without any depth behind them? It feels like we’re watching events being acted out instead of living them as participants.
I can’t help but get the feeling that he’s more concerned with telling us what should have happened than actually showing it happening before our eyes. What kind of relationship existed between Ada and Gozie prior to Junior’s departure? How was their status quo defined? These are questions which remain unanswered throughout this film because they were never addressed by its creator in the first place!
Also, I find some parts of it too sweet nd this is mainly due to the fact that these emotions were not earned at all. I mean, why should we care so much about Junior when there’s no clear explanation as to how his absence affected those around him most especially Gozie? The teenage Ada who fell into hands of a corrupt NYSC member nd got pregnant for example.
What does she have against her parents apart from blaming them everything that went wrong in her life after having met such person during service corps year which coincided with time juniors absense became so apparent even me as an outsider could see through it all from day one. And then again why did Gozie always feel overshadowed by his brother?
Was it a bad performance by Sophia Chisom or just the monologue at the end that was also bad? It sounded tired and static, like a cannonball tied to her ankle in a swimming race. She floundered. The less said about Abayomi Alvin’s performance, the better.
It is hard to pick out any one performance as exceptional either in front of or behind the camera. Sometimes, in their bid to look innovative, camera movements end up looking odd. There was at least one jarring Dutch angle floating about. And those Dutch angles would’ve worked in Yahoo+ because of the film’s tone.
We can commend Uno: The F in Family for its central idea. There is indeed potential somewhere within this film which attempts progressive ideas. It tries to touch on inter tribal union problems, post Nigerian civil war trauma; marital infidelity; and freedom for children to be who they feel is best for them. It feels like too many things were being juggled unnecessarily with no end in sight or solution found. To add insult on injury didn’t appear like there was absolute technical security backuping up the film’s ambition hence another almost Nollywood project here!
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