Originally uploaded by NollywoodForever
Nigerian Movie Review
Emerald ~ 2009
Story – Chisom Juliet Okereke
Screenplay – Juliet Chisom Okereke
Director – Ikechukwu Onyeka
Starring:
Genevieve Nnaji – Emerald
Majid Michel – Max
Tonto Dikeh – Becky
Geraldine Ekeocha – Mrs Davies
Halima Abubakar – Mery
Ladi Tortty – Clarissa
Ikechukwu Onyeka – Stan
Andy Ike – Adaeke
Kingsley Uche – Gateman
Chigozie Ibe – Carrier
Themes:
Time Travel in Africa
Family Heirloom Nigeria
Love African
My Rating 50%
Becky returns to Nigeria from the UK to open an antiques shop. She enlists the help of her cousin Emerald who has recently graduated from a Nigerian university in Business Administration. African Movie
One day they go to purchase stock when Emerald comes across an emerald ring. A woman in the shop whom one would assume to be a sales assistant sees Emerald admiring the ring and seems intent on her having the ring, despite Emerald’s refusals. When the woman tells Emerald that she can pay whatever she likes for it Emerald succumbs and pays the woman 5000 Naira. Nigerian Movie
Later when Emerald meets with Becky she is shocked that she values the ring at 10000 Euro. It also seems strange that Becky does not recognise the description of the woman that sold the ring. Things get even stranger when Emerald falls asleep that night with the ring on. Very strange indeed!
*************SPOILERS*************
I must say it is a peeve of mine when names are spelt wrong in the credits. It happens in many films but since the credits were done so badly in this movie I thought I’d mention it here. It is especially annoying with obviously spelt names, like spelling “Geraldine” “Geraldin.” Not only is it unprofessional but it’s kinda rude and disrespectful towards the person who’s name you are misspelling, in my opinion.
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I must say I was disappointed after all the hype of a Majid/ Genny pairing. I was really looking forward to watching this film but it really didn’t live up to the hype AT ALL. To their credit Genevieve and Majid had electrifying chemistry and it was a good pairing, but the storyline was a let down. At first it seemed like it was going to be an excellent movie and in fact it had the potential to be a really good movie as the story was original and different to the usual Nollywood fare.
If only all the loose ends were tied up it could have been really really good. There is the possibility that there is a continuation that will tie up these loose ends but as long as I have only watched Part 1 and 2 then it was something of a flop. These are the things that we as the viewer need to understand by the end of the movie:
We see Masters of the plantation, servants, afros and bowties. What is all this in aid of? Where and when is the setting?
How does the modern day Emerald tie in with the servant Emerald except both falling in love with a married man called Maximillian?
Reincarnation? Past Life?
We need to know more about the history of the emerald ring. We know that it was a stolen family heirloom but this is not enough for the events that take place to make sense.
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Apart from the issues with the holes in the story we also had the issue of very poor indoor lighting. Many scenes were dark to the point that faces only looked like shadows. It was a hot mess. There was this background music that they used in a few scenes too that was very annoying. It sounded like someone playing a computer games, like a dull pinging noise.
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Majid and Genny were on point, and all their scenes together were magical. Tonto did not perform as well as she usually does. I think that this was because she was too dramatic for the understated feel of the movie. She needed to stop gesticulating so much and take a chill pill, especially being next to cool as a cucumber Genny. That kind of acting can work when you are in a Jim Iyke beating you senseless kind of setting, but for this setting it just did not work.
Halima Halima Halima… Where do I start? She isn’t too bad as in acting wise but it has come to my attention that she is always looking so hookerish. What is up with that? I am wondering if she is put in these clothes or she insists on them. She had her bazukas pushed up to her chin and the tacky tattoos on her cleavage exposed. It was just so not necessary. In one of the scenes she is wearing a thing yellow summer dress and as she is walking the material is slipping between her butt cheeks… WHY??
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Overall I would not recommend this movie as it just didn’t make sense. The film ends with Max and Emerald kissing on a sofa. There is not even indication that there is anything more to the movie. If there is a continuation that addresses all these issues then that is a different story, but as it stands… THUMBS DOWN.
This is one of my favorite Nolly flicks ever. Majid and Gene were just too smoking HOT! I love how they act and convey emotions without uttering a single word.
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