‘House Manager’ is a well-written thriller with a few avoidable flaws

Cast: Oluwabamike Adenibuyan, Eso Dike, Sydney Ihionu, Antar Laniyan, Perpetual Ukadike

Director: Isioma Osaje

Writer: Mfon-Abasi Michael Inyang

Executive Producers: Omoni Oboli

Tomi Adeoye

Producer: Susan O’tuga

Omoni Oboli teams up with her regular collaborator, writer Mfon-Abasi Inyang (Love In Every Word 1 & 2), for this thrilling drama. This duo is known for romance movies, so it’s refreshing that they veered off their well-beaten path for this movie.

The House Manager starts as a young lady’s quest for reparations. Eventually, he morphs into a movie about a dysfunctional family, an evil patriarch and a heinous crime that refuses to stay buried. It explores how things are often not what they seem on the surface, the devastating consequences of greed, and how smiles can mask the most degenerate of hearts.

Plot

“Emeka no go play football again?” This haunting question is one that sets the stage for this movie. It is the overriding sentiment that drives the female lead to ignore wise counsel and expose herself to danger, all to achieve a seemingly insurmountable goal.

Ifeoma (Oluwabamike Adenibuyan) is a sister on a mission to ensure that a hit-and-run incident that leaves her brother struggling to walk does not truncate his dreams of becoming a professional footballer.

Despite the moves made by her trusted advisors to stop her, the thought of her beloved brother never playing professionally again is unbearable.

With the help of her friend David (played by Comedian Mr Helarious), she hatches a dangerous plot to infiltrate the household of the man responsible for the accident, find something damning she can use as leverage, and blackmail him into bankrolling the expensive surgery her brother Emeka (Desmond Bryce) needs to get back on his feet.

At a cursory glance, the Lawals look like any other wealthy Nigerian family: a caring father, a loving wife, and attentive, obedient children.

Shockingly, it is all a facade. The father is a control freak, the wife is adulterous, and of the two sons, one is disloyal, while the other, who is assumed sick, is not sick.

Theirs is a household where normalcy is a myth, secrets abound, resentment simmers underneath fake cheer, and nothing is ever as it first appears.

To get into the family, she assumes the identity of a widow named Mrs Judith. She uses some of the tricks of her trade as an Investigative Journalist to ingratiate herself with the family’s outgoing house manager, who recommends her as a replacement.

From there, she makes her moves to find dirt on Chief Timileyin Lawal (Antar Laniyan), dirt scandalous enough to make him give in to her blackmail rather than watch his Gubernatorial ambitions derailed.

Things go better than she originally planned as she stumbles upon several Lawal family secrets, one of which is so explosive that it changes the family’s trajectory for good.

Review

I wasn’t sure what to expect from the trailer, but The House Manager delivers more than it promises. I was pleasantly surprised.

It explores diverse family dynamics, bonds that bind and love in its different forms. The movie underscores that while family is determined by blood, not everyone who shares your blood has your best interests at heart.

There was quite a bit of suspense. I found myself holding my breath when Ifeoma was snooping around the house, especially the times when she almost got caught.

The film also had emotional moments, including a budding romance between Ifeoma and Chief Lawal’s first son, Bayo (Eso Dike). The decision not to centre that relationship in the film was the right one, as it ensured the focus remained firmly on Ifeoma’s mission.

The writer made sure that there was little to no ambiguity in the actions of the characters, the rationale behind their activities was not in doubt, and past events were fleshed out without going into elaborate flashbacks like Nollywood movies tend to do.

I loved that the cast was sizable, the sets were varied, and there was a good mix of indoor and outdoor scenes.

Flaws

The location of the court scene and the language were largely accurate, but the costuming left much to be desired.

The male lawyers wore female bibs as part of their legal robes.

Another error was the assault charge against Chief Lawal in court. One cannot be charged for an assault that occurred 25 years ago, as it has become time-barred.

Additionally, the judgement of the court cannot be given on the same day the case is concluded. This is because the Judge needs time to consider all the evidence presented, make a decision, and write it down. Because of this, the director should have noted the passage of time in a different way or instructed the wardrobe department to make more outfit changes available.

These errors were avoidable.

Nollywood needs to prioritise accuracy in its portrayals.

Performances

I do not believe Oluwabamike, more popularly known as Bambam, is the best suited for this film. Her body type is so curvy; I had palpitations thinking about how her identity could have been revealed if anyone had seen her snooping around. Her hips would have given her away!

I also didn’t understand why she left her face uncovered. It was as though she was too confident in her ability to evade capture, and I consider that a flaw in the script.

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As an actress, she has yet to evolve. In the scene with her Lawyer, she spoke a little pidgin and showed some flashes of brilliance that made me believe she would interpret her role differently this time. Still, alas, she soon lapsed into her regular mode: sultry, seductive goddess who speaks with a drawl and has multiple foreign accents in her repertoire.

Perhaps she needs to work with a director who will challenge her to step outside her comfort zone, as she is stereotyping herself.

Eso Dike does most of his acting with his eyes. As the heir to the Lawal Empire, he is suave and sophisticated. I look forward to the day he takes on more challenging roles, because I believe he is capable of more.

What I enjoyed the most about this cast was how well everyone played their parts. No scene is extraneous or overdone. Everything is to the point and moves the story forward.

The wardrobe department was intentional about colours, leaning mostly into earth tones for the cast’s outfits. The fashion was subtly coordinated, making the looks cohesive and enhancing the movie’s overall aesthetic.

Varied sets, different near-accurate costumes and noticeable hairstyle/grooming changes made the movie very believable.