The movie, Nimbe, portrays on the vulnerability of teenage boys that may stem from bullying, neglect, loneliness, peer pressure or a combination of all of these.
The movie produced by Oluwaseun Dani and directed by Tope Alake saw the main cast, Chimezie Imo play Nimbe.
Imo has starred in a couple of productions including masala, Kasanova, Handicapped, 90s Gogoro etc
The movie was set in Ibadan with a total of 17 cast, extras excluded with the major sponsor being the Nigerian Senate.
Oluwanimbe is a perfect combination of all these. Being bullied in school and coming home to a chaotic home did not help much.
The frustration from all these push him to a new friend and inadvertently into the dingy world of drugs.
Nimbe leaves everyone with a lesson and shuns the corroding world of drugs.
Let us look at the parts of the movie that we love and the parts that could have been better although I must say that in this movie, the defaults are scarce.
Characterization
The cast characterised their roles so well. Honorary mention to Nimbe (of course). You could see the teenage boy who needed an escape from his anarchic world. At no point in this movie did I see Chimezie Imo outside his roe as Nimbe . His performance in this production is chef’s kiss
Ak(Kelechi Udegbe) embodied his drug kingpin role too. Every smirk, growl and sigh gave Escobar vibe especially in the scenes where he had to chop the hand of a traitor and kill a man on the railway track.
Another realistic scene was the reconciliation between Nimbe and his mum, Uduak(Toyin Abraham)
Stunts/ Special effects
Save for the scene where AK chopped a man’s hand but we were not shown even the blood splash, all other stunts/effects look realistic.
It might take a second for people who come across Benji (Ojewole Timilehin) to realise that he is not really dead. That gunshot wound was gory.
We also have the scene were Nimbe hits Lemon(Isreal Joshua Oghenemarho) with a club just before AK shoots him following Peju’s death, the directing was superb
Plot
The dynamic between Nimbe and Ralph’s relationship was impeccable. Even scene with the both of them meant something and I appreciate that.
However, I could not grasp the situation between Nimbe and Peju(Doyin Abiola). He had strong feelings for her. Obviously, that could not thrive under AK but the progression of their story was not properly cemented to me.
Finally on the plot, after a while, I got lost in Bayo(Odunlade Adekola) and Uduak’s relationship.
Yes, it is toxic and abusive but that was literally what every scene with them was about.
Plus, what happened to Uduak’s sister’s wedding?
And how did Uduak leave her husband’s house without her only son that she lived for?
Language
Wonderful use of drug cartel slangs if you ask me. Ralph used the term ‘runner’ for a distributor.
Thankfully we didn’t have any character speaking impeccable Queen’s English in an underground drug cartel in Ibadan.
The use of Indigenous language would have been perfect if everyone was carried along with subtitles.
One this that had me rolling my eyes was the Efik accent Uduak had to use. I thought the name Uduak did enough justice to the point of an intertribal marriage.
The unnecessary emphasis on accents on indigenous accents is something the industry would have to work on collectively. Most Nigerians do not have a strong ethnic accent.
Setting
The rusty roofing sheet would tell you that this movie was set in Ibadan, reminds me of the poem Ibadan by the legendary J.P Clark.
It also made use of a rural environment, typical for a Criminal hideout just like AK’s
The costume was also very appropriate with the characters. One could get a feel of the characters’ reality through their look.
The overall production was pleasant, Tope Alake ensures that there were good enough long shots to capture the entirety of most scenes.
Wale Waves also perfected then icing on the cake with his song selection.
On finishing note, I would recommend this movie to anyone who is ready to see one of the many ‘whys’ of drug abuse and addiction.
The compelling story of Nimbe would draw you in and leave you heartbroken at the not so fairytale end.
I would rate this movie a solid 9/10
