The Black Book, a Nigerian “Equalizer”

If you haven’t seen The Black Book as produced and directed by Editti Effiong, ( you know the guy who directed Up’North, The Set Up) ill advice you close this browser page or whatever platform you are reading from, open Netflix and sit trough the unbelievable 2 hours of it, however if you have seen it, lets talk about some of the questions you possibly had too.

I’ll start with the Story

It’s a one of a kind story with a few misses here and there, as is common with even the best of stories, the film runs us through the life of a retired military marksman cum assassin, a militarized Nigerian version of Jason Borne in his fifties, retied to the life of a deacon in a small church, doing God’s work, his past comes back to haunt him when his son falls victim of wrongful killing at the hands of corrupt policemen who were sponsored by his former boss, General Issa, played by Alex Usifo, the Kaduna version of Robert Dewey ( you know the Corrupt CIA head that ordered Borne’s  rendition). The whole story I believed unraveled too early, when we find out in the first quarter of the movie who the main bad guy is, it somehow told me at the back of my mind how it was all going to end, it wasn’t exactly what I imagined that eventually happened, it however was a close enough version, anyhow e be, all die na die. Giving more power and “control” to Senator Dipo and Angelo, while keeping General Issa shrouded in mystery would have drove home the depth of his might and power, People fear the unknown. I love how the story is however laced with pungent topics of corruption, and the socio-political order of the world we live in. General Issa: there are people like me, and there are people like you, …and the bloody civilians, the sheep…”. It is what it is, if you can’t beat them, join them.

Cinematography?

Lets not even talk about it, the pictures told the story, the colors projected the mood, notice the depressing feel/color of the film after the death of the son, it was psychologically depressing yet, visually pleasing to see, and the introduction of the Journalist into the life of our Protagonist was too symbolic to miss, her entrance created a very sharp contrast in costume and appearance, that scene on the street marked the beginning of fresh crisis,  overall, the cinematography is one of the film’s strong point, and it was efficiently executed, that’s all I’ll say on that, if you have counter opinions, I’ll leave my contact info at the end of the review, I’ll love to hear/read them. Moving on.

So lets talk Sound and Music

This is one of those films you go to IMDB to look up key department heads at the end of the film, and I can categorically say that Aleksey Kobzar and Kulanen Ikyo are masters of their art,  the sound transition is a criminal accomplice to the visual transition, I feel like this is one of the productions that the technical team has a closely knitted conversation as to what the vision of the film is, or maybe they all are just good at what they do and they kick the can down the road as usual. The highlight of the auditory aesthetics was the revelation in the cathedral, the mood of the scene was tightened by the echoes of the Journalists screams, it created chills all over me, an effectively used natural and special effect, this department wasn’t found lacking.

Unlike the visual and  special effects, I believe could have used more intentionality and finesses, with reference to the explosion of the SUV at the opening scene, the Explosion at Paul Edima’s Cottage and the muzzle flash of rifles, it looks and feels shabbily done, coupled with the gunfight at the opening scene, which seemed a little less choreographed, a very thrilling area Nollywood Directors and producers need to put more effort.

THE JEWEL AND CROWN

Denola Grey was the highlight of the actors, with little screen time, he blended into his role as the fumigator, his performance however cant be compared to the delivery of Ikechukwu and the way he bodied his character, to say Bimbo Akintola isn’t deserving of the little attention she gets as an ace actor is understating the mere fact, I literally could feel the pain when she realized her child had been shot over the phone, I would be disappointed if she had delivered less, but I didn’t expect anything less and she filled the shoes, the same I cant say for Sam Dede, I believe he was the only error in casting and acting, I get that the producers and the casting director was going for a feel of class, legend and veteran, but Uncle Sam didn’t seem to cut it for the role, allow me to make a quick reference to the phone call he made to Bimbo Akintola, while holding her child and Husband captive, the mood of the scene was filled with suspense and impending tragedy, Angelo somehow managed to ruin the mood with the wrong characterization and delivery, which he carried through the rest of the film, with regular “Sam Dede Bad guy” acting. To say his performance in the movie was subpar will be spitting on his years of practice and professionalism, he however didn’t fit into his role.  Angelo isn’t a competent weapon, he is however cold yet brazen, and also impulsive.

And as for Apapa Denzel Washington, I couldn’t merge the crying RMD at the end with the RMD that sat with General Issa at the pool side, there wasn’t enough time to build a bond with Paul and feel empathy for him after the death of his son, he was just a regular guy on a killing spree so he could get to bury his son’s body. Jon Wick is the most feared assassin in his underworld, yet you love him so much you don’t want him dead, Wick is the perfect Villain… Ninalowo (Gangs of Lagos) was a dread, but we felt heart ache when he died, Ogundiji (Jagun Jagun) was far worse, but we had an emotional connection to his character. The Directors failed to do the same with Apapa Denzel. Shaffy Bello is the goat of transition, from an ordinary Peruvian Jacquard merchant to Big Daddy the criminal mastermind, Shaffy Delivers again. Let’s not forget to mention the casting, the attention to detail cannot be missed, casting Femi Branch for the younger version of General Issa was a brilliant  decision, and the same goes for Paul Edima Jnr.

FINALLY

So the film peaks and hits a full circle moment when Paul slides his revolver towards General Issa at the pool side, and asks him if he was Brave, make we no lie, that one enter well.

“Paul Edima shot a decorated police Officer…” and so the plot thickens… unnecessary but Clever.

Why the title? “Nigerian Equalizer” well the story line, character arch, plot and overall feel is just as that of Michael Sloan’s The Equalizer.

Finally, to answer my first question, was it worth it, and also to ask, does it have replay value?

Well read the review again if you have doubts.