Stone Face

Originally uploaded by NollywoodForever

Stone Face
Story, Screenplay and Direction – Emeka Nwabueze 

Starring:
Nadia Buari – Steph
Susan Peters – Nelly
Uche Jumbo – Petronella
Ramsey Noah – Julius
Ngozi Ezeonu – VPW
Clem Ohameze – VP
Remi Ohajianya – Brigadure Isah
Lisa Onu – Dora
Adrienne Koutouan – PW
Ahmed Souaney – De Gaule
Kingsley Ihekoronye – Nkume
Princess Suzzy – Doris
Christy Okonkwo – Police Commisioner
Lugard Onoyemu – Corporal
Donatus Okoye – Desmond
Uche Chibuzor – Rita
Fred Peters – Hon Clems
Nene Nwabueze – Angela
Pastor Ezennwa Emmanuel – President
Izuchukwu Ibe – O’Brien
Bolyon Ndukwe Elechi – Stanley
Mma Ogbonwa – Amina
Kubra Emokpaire – Linda
Nnenwa Anuka – Madame Abigail
Ajia Hauwa – Nneka
Julie Ebere Solomon – Jesomta
Angela Chukwu – Aisha
Uche Onumajulu – Uche

Themes Explored:
Justice
Patriarchy
ChastityForgiveness
Tradition
Arranged Marriage
Jealousy
Unrequited Love

My Rating: 70%

Steph has spent 7 years in school without being certified a graduate simply due to the fact that, although attending and completing assignments, she has not been paying her fees. She comes from a poor family and was assured by the dean of students that she would be allowed to graduate. Of course when she refuses to sleep with him he refuses to stick to his word and so she leaves school with nothing to show for it except a brilliant mind. What is a brilliant mind when you have nothing to confirm it in the job world?

*************SPOILERS*************

Steph is left with no choice but to return to her humble beginnings with her father and auntie. (or was it her step mother? I wasn’t sure) Instead of being proud of Steph for finishing university and still remaining a virgin as opposed to other girls that sold their bodies to pay for course fees. Her auntie (I’ll refer to her as such for the purposes of this blog) is wholly unimpressed with her supposed purity and tells her,

“You want us to clap you eh? If a girl of your age is still a virgin then you are dunce.”

Her father has the same mentality and laughs at her “situation.”

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Patriarchy

 
It is clear that she feels resentment towards her father for treating her she would consider unfairly because of her gender. She tells him,

“I don’t blame you daddy, after all you had so many lands that you could have sold to pay for my education.”

It becomes clear from her father’s response that is she had been a male he would have been inclined to sell those lands to pay for her education. According to custom a man cannot sell off land in his daughter’s honour as she will marry can carry her name and reputation to her husband’s house thus not carrying any benefit to her family.

Her auntie warns her that she needs a man to succeed in life,

“What can a woman become without a man? Men… they add injury to women yes they are the only ones that build a route.”

This is said to put pressure on Steph to marry quickly. Her aunt is boasting about what other daughters are able to provide materially for their families through the men that they have hooked up with. Steph retorts that she refuses to be a prostitute her auntie snaps back, “What woman is not a prostitute?”

Can it be said that a woman is a prostitute if her love is dependent on money and gifts? Is it the intent that characterises prostitution?
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Steph’s fortunes change when her friend from school hooks her up with a job at the law firm where she works, despite her not having officially graduated. The boat is rocked when Steph is asked to defend a guy in court. She is supposed to “nail him” but insists on letting justice prevail and giving the guy a fair case. Dora is outraged that she would go against orders in the name of justice when it is she that gave Steph the opportunity to even work at the law firm.

Steph is back to square one when the law firm boss Desmond throws her out of the house they gave to her and sacks her. Desmond is played by Donatus Okoye and boy was he over the top and unconvincing. Dora too played by Lisa Onu is pretty awful to watch. She is really wooden, and shouldn’t have been allowed to talk so much. It was as if each sentence and action was overly analysed to the point that she came across very stiff and unnatural. I was glad when her character was outta there.

Steph realises the seriousness of her situation and the trouble that going against the grain can cause when Dora is assassinated. She also goes for a job and is told, “Your name is ringing loud.” She has learnt the hard way that fighting for what is right can also means risking your life.

Still Steph receives another lucky break when another old friend hooks her up with a job with the Vice President’s Wife as head of Protocol. This is where Steph really gets herself into hot water as the Vice President’s wife’s (whom she works for) daughter is engaged to the President’s son, who also works for the company, and the VP’s wifes daughter Petronella does not like Steph getting close to her man Julius.

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Some Questions I had to ask

I wondered if Julius was ever really into Petronella because he didn’t seem to like her much and it didn’t take too much for him to be madly in love with Steph to the point that he is chasing her to the village.

Why at the hospital was the doctor doing the kind of tests that would lead him to conclude, “From the tests conducted on her there was no sexual penetration?” Who asked him to stick anything into her vagina?

During the fake sex scene where Julius’ friend set Steph up to look like they were having an affair, how on earth for one second could Julius even believe that she was a willing participant when she did not even move a millimetre when he walked in?  Her eyes were closed and she looked dead.

Why did the makers of this movie throw in the French aspect? It is a nice touch but then if you are going to introduce that it would be nice to not have the non French speaking crew actually leaning their lines and not playing a tape recording of their lines. It is a) obvious and b)downright lazy. It also looks a bit bogus when you have certain characters only speaking in French and then others mostly replying in English.

After all the drama that Julius has put Steph through she is still hanging around with him in hotel rooms waiting to get shot at. At some point you would surely have to drop the guy, for a long while at least. At every opportunity she was being set up. They had her drugged and put in the bed with Julius’ friend, drugged and put in a supposed lesbian porno (very lame) even when Julius came to find her in the village and they stayed at a friend’s house her friends house got robbed. The guy was just bringing her bad luck left right and centre, added to the fact that when you met he had a fiancée! Can somebody please say alarm bells? My question to Steph the character that Nadia played would be, WHAT KIND OF IDIOT ARE YOU?

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Overall I found the movie enjoyable to watch. The film moves at a fast pace and is easy to get into. Susan Peters and Nadia Buari have a very easy and natural chemistry on screen. Of course Ramsey Noah plays the role of lover boy well… After all that it is what he is known for.

The build up of tension was particularly good during the attempted assassination scenes. Ramsey and Nadia were convincing as those that believed that their lives were in extreme danger. The ending was satisfying in that justice prevailed however the end was not idealistic which added a touch of realism.