Be Not Afraid

Originally uploaded by NollywoodForever

Be Not Afraid ~ 2009
Story, Screenplay and Direction – Tchidi Chikere

Starring:
Ali Nuhu – Terry
Tchidi Chikere – Malik
Rita Dominic – Issae
Pat Attah – Billy
Orji Gospel – DPO1
Gaddiel Onwudiwe – DPO 2
Chigozie Okolie – Officer Robert
Junior Pope Nwodu – Gogo
Irentia Nneka Eze – Bemi
Makati Nonwanus – Bishop
Ijeoma Azuka – John
Voke Stever – Nurse Mary
Pah Ogah – Irene
Mary Igwe – Ingrid
David Aginwa – Titus
Ifunanya Nwuobuike – Desree
Chinonso Ogbuka – Miran
Frank Nwabuoke – Taxi Driver
Blessing Ekechukwu – Gogo Girlfriend

Themes:
Abandonment
Abduction
Single Motherhood
Forgiveness
Grief
Death

My Rating – 67%

Malik is part of a carjacking cartel. One day he spots a pretty young woman driving a slick new jeep. She leaves the car and enters a grocery store at which time Malik jacks the vehicle and takes it back to his boss’ base only to discover on opening the back doors that there is a baby boy lying on the back seat. After the initial panic subsides it is decided by the cartel that the baby will be returned to the mother, but first they need to enquire as to where the mother lives. Rita is distraught at being separated from her son and thinks constantly only of where he is and how he is. In the meantime Malik becomes protective over and attached to the baby boy.

Fate is to keep mother and son apart for longer than the gang reckoned as when Malik goes to return the child the area is teeming with police and so they abandon the mission with the intent of returning the boy another day. That day never comes as the baby dies in Malik’s hands despite his best efforts to keep him alive.

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Malik befriends Rita and after gaining her trust they become close. He soon breaks the news to her that he is the one that abducted her son. Can you imagine after she breaks down he tells her,

“Don’t make me cry. I want to talk.” Um what did you really expect?

He then makes a call,

“Hello is that 999. I need you to arrest me.” I didn’t know that Nigeria use 999. Do they?
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The dead baby scene is ridiculous. The baby is supposedly wrapped in cloth but the lump that they come up with is not even baby shaped! Why did they not just wrap a doll up if a real baby could not be used?

Malik’s lines were so corny. When he comes across Issae sitting outside he goes up to her and says,

“Never before have I seen a lady sitting how you are sitting… head bowed and tears squeezing out of your eyes.”

There are not even tears coming out of Issae’s eyes and the guy is just there yarning rubbish.

Another corny line,

“My heart reaches out to you with heartfelt pity.”
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This lace front syndrome is hitting Nollywood hard and I for one am not loving it at all. Love Rita bad but do not love all the baby hair all in the edges of the lacefront all long, wispy and flyaway. It really does not look good and as far as I’m concerned if you are over the age of 5 or your name ain’t Chilli from TLC then there is no need for all the baby hairs. I just hope this lacefront obsession is fleeting.

At the end of part 1 Tchidi does the epilogue thing like he did in Friends in Love (Used People) and Beautiful Soul. This is despite there being a part 2. What is up with that? It looks kinda shoddy. He then had another epilogue at the end of part 2. Is it that it was going to be one part and he changes his mind? If anybody knows why holla!
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I loved the story but Tchidi is getting above himself casting himself as the lead role. With Ali, Tchidi and Pat replaced this movie could have been soooo much better. That in itself knocked off a good few percentage points. When will he realise that acting is not his forte? I suggest that he goes to rendezvous with his pal Van in New York and hit up those acting classes and just maybe then after extensive training we will be able to say good things. This is a must if he insists on continuing to be in front of the camera.

Ali Nuhu too I wasn’t really feeling. He was badly cast in the role of an auto theft cartel Kingpin. In my opinion he came across too young and too soft for the role. How would hardened career criminals listen to a soft boy like that? His character didn’t have enough balls and even when Ali was trying to act “hard” it was laughable and not convincing. This guy is not ready for challenging roles.

Pat Attah is back. Still stiff, still wooden, and still easy on the eye but with considerably less hair than when we last saw him.

Rita was the standout performance in this. The church scene in particular sticks out in my mind. You could see her being physically drained by the emotions that she was playing out in asking god to provide a crutch for her to carry her through her grief. She wailed, she cried, she made sobbing guttural noises and in doing so she made you believe that she was Issae the young mother shoes son had just been snatched away from her.
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I would recommend the movie. Overall it was a good watch. Watch if only for Rita’s performance which was excellent. The story was original and did not falter. There was a good message in it all and summed up by Rita’s character Issae at the end of the movie when she says, “everyone has a story,” which is to say that what is surface can be deceptive. People should be judged on an individual basis because despite what anyone has done you do not know the story behind it and indeed everyone has a story. The whole thing was just ruined a little by bad casting and some corny dialogue.