Arguably one of the best products from Nollywood in 2019, Living in Bondage 2019 is a sequel to Living in Bondage from 1992. I was captured right from the first scene and the scene still remains one of my favorites in the movie.
Ramsey Noah does a great job in his debut as a director, directing this It is well worth watching.
Given it is a sequel, it seems to have lots of gaps if you are watching this movie for the first time. However the first movie is not available in the same platforms where this is showing i.e. Netflix. Sadly we are forced to judge whether this is a good stand-alone movie or not.
Either way, I definitely would say it is worth watching. The acting is good actually great if you looking at Ramsey, Enyinna and Swanky JKA
The Story
Set in Nigeria it tells of a young ignorantly ambitious marketer wanting to make it big. Despite the warnings from his family and others who have his best interest at heart. His foolishness and rapacity drive him to owe what he can’t afford to pay and he doesn’t know how to get out of the hole he has dug himself into.
The script however doesn’t seem tight enough to me. For example, I believe a father who is anxious to save his son’s life would not stop after only one attempt.
Aspects of the story are forced to move forward which compromises the flow of the story but one can piece it all together. For example, its obvious Nnamdi is a favorite devotee (why?), their initiation is planned ahead of time but we don’t get this. Also, was the incident physical or in his dream and it manifested physically – why would he think its a dream?
By leaving out so much the story moves forward fast, however, I feel this compromised the quality of the movie. Another occasion is in the back story of the pastor, this too could have been richer and better for us to understand why he would stop following his son after only one attempt. I think this could have been two movies.
The Actors
The cast is great. They all fit their characters perfectly. Each of the characters is very believable despite the fact that under most circumstances, a large majority would consider such a tale far fetched.
Enyinna over delivered in the first scene – you can feel the burden his character is carrying though you know exactly what he is going to do. This was my favorite scene in the movie. The lighting, facial expression, glassy eyes, and puffed face came together to deliver this perfectly. it got me for the rest of the movie alongside Ramsey and Kenneth’s confrontation. I did not like Kenneth’s performance in this much.
I think this may be some of Ramsey Noah’s best acting. Considering he also did the directing, he did an awesome job. I have never seen Swanky JKA’s work before. I think he was amazing.
The Cast
Bob-Manuel Udokwu – Mike
David Jone David (Credited as David Jones) – Uzoma Adibe
Ebele Okaro – Eunice Nworie
Enyinna Nwigwe – Obinna Omego
Jide Kene Achufusi (Credited as Swanky JKA) – Nnamdi Okeke
Kanayo O. Kanayo – Chief Emeka Omego
Kenneth Okonkwo – Andy Okeke
Munachi Abii – Kelly Nwankwo
Nancy Isime – Stella
Ndidi Obi – Nneka Omego
Ramsey Nouah – Richard Williams
Shawn Faqua – Toby Nworie
Zulu Adigwe – Pascal Nworie
Technical Construction
The filming was good, lighting ok. The camera angles could have been better especially in the confrontation of Pastor Okeke and camera angles with Ramsey Noah.
For some reason, I feel like significant parts of the movie were cut out. Though a sequel the assumption that the backstories are known or cut out leave so many gaps in the plot. The editing could have been better. The music was great and in itself a beautiful collection.
Conclusion
Given all the gaps in the movie and that partially this is supposed to be a fight against darkness and light some scenes just felt watered down e.g. confrontation of the Pastor and Williams. The production is good, the directing great but I think too much was cut off or left out even though this is a sequel.
Rating
I enjoyed what was left of this movie but I feel there is much more left out. I, therefore, rate it as a 6/10.
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