It’s not so strange to see family members with different political beliefs, affiliations, and whatnot. What is however odd is to see close family members, and in this case couples, contesting for the same political office. The concept itself boggles the mind. You can imagine the curiosity that surrounded Omoni Oboli’s Love is War movie, which is about a couple, Dimeji and Hankuri Phillips, contesting for the same political office. There was just this eagerness to see how the movie would play out.
Love is War is directed by Omoni Oboli and produced by Inkblot productions.
The movie has an impressive line-up of stars including Omoni Oboli, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Akin Lewis, Femi Branch, Shaffy Bello, Jide Kosoko, Damilare Kuku, Bimbo Manuel, Yomi Blaq, and Uzor Osimkpa. A brilliant introduction to the cast was Toke Makinwa, who played her role of political journalist well.
Hits
Story: The story, though not common, was still believable and relatable. Hankuri Phillips (Omoni Oboli) was serving as the Minister of Women Affairs when she was nominated to run for governor of Ondo state. All the intrigue, treachery, power play, betrayal that shrouds the Nigerian political scene is played out well in this movie, complete with the notorious and most times irrelevant late night meetings that politicians attend, and the violence of rival party members.
Costume: That the costume director knew his onions was obvious from how everyone shined in their attires. From Shaffy Bello with her Oluremi Tinubu-inspired outfits, to Omoni Oboli’s stunning Ankara styles, down to the campaign attires of both parties. Can’t but mention that Omoni Oboli totally rocked with her natural hair styles!! (Win for team natural hair).
Subthemes: While not dwelling on it, the movie subtly touched on the battle that couples who are in a relationship where the woman is more powerful/influential face.
Cast: The movie was star-studded and each member of cast played their role well.
Soundtrack: Loved, loved, loved the talking drum beats used in every scene that had Jide Kosoko and Richard Mofe-Damijo’s party, WDP.
Misses
Story: While the overall story was delivered well, there were some obvious weaknesses in the plots. One was after Richard Mofe-Damijo was shot and he gave a press conference that he was going to come after the perpetrators, one would have expected that Jide Kosoko would not have left himself as a sitting duck for easy arrest. Another was the boring, repetitive campaign lines that Richard Mofe-Damijo used in his campaign scenes.
Poor Coordination: There was a bit of poor editing in one of Omoni’s campaign scenes. The audience’s response were not aligned with her questions.
Reviewed by Oriyomi Adebare