Film Review: Mr. & Mrs.

By Halima Olajumoke Sogbesan

Movie Title: Mr. & Mrs.

Year: 2011

Director: Ikechukwu Onyeka

Producer: Chinwe Egwuagu

Cast: Nse Ikpe Etim, Joseph Benjamin, Thelma Okodua, Paul Apel, Barbara Soky, Chioma Nwosu, Mpei Mapetla

This is one movie that attempts to tell a truth about some of the conflicts and struggles in marriages. Mr. & Mrs. is a Nollywood movie directed by prominent Nollywood director Ikechukwu Onyeka, and written, and produced by Chinwe Egwuagu.

The 2011 movie features upcoming actors. Joseph Benjamin plays the role of Kenneth Abbah, the Managing Director of Hills Oil and Gas, who emotionally maltreats his wife of ten years. Nse Ikpe Etim is Susan Abbah, Kenneth’s wife who has to put up with the unfairness of her husband. Thelma Okodua is portrayed as a Career woman, Linda, who is so consumed with work she hardly has time for her family. Paul Apel is Charles, the loving husband of Linda who, ‘supports’ her career and never complains.

Plot

The movie depicts the lives of two families: the Abbah family, and the family of Charles and Linda, whose surnames are never revealed in the movie. The family that receives more dramatic attention is the Abbah family. Susan is portrayed as the housewife who has been relegated to the position of a maid in her marital home. She has to make fresh meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, because her MD husband dislikes stale food and eating out. Her husband barely eats the food she makes, nags constantly, rains insults on her, and never pays her attention except when he wants to satisfy his sexual needs. He also suggests that she is incompetent. She accepts all the abuse in an attempt to please her ungrateful husband.

Charles and Linda, on the other hand, seem like the perfect family. Linda is a career woman, who spends most of her day at work. Her husband, Charles, appears supportive of her career.

The story relates the experiences of Susan and Kenneth and how they work out the problems associated with their marriage. At the end of the movie, Susan is able to get back a husband that respects and loves her dearly. Linda and Charles, on the other hand, have to deal with a challenge in their marriage before a happy-ever-after. Linda finds out that her marriage is not perfect after all; her husband had been having an affair with the maid all the while. However, she is willing to make sacrifices in her career to make her marriage work.

The story is told in a linear way, with no flashbacks or foreshadows. However, there are times that the viewer disconnects from the movie as a result of some weak transitions.

Themes

The movie has two important themes. These are consistent marital conflicts and the wife’s struggle between confinement and independence.

Susan’s representation of the struggle women face in marriages is good, though with some flaws. She is a smart and outspoken woman with a lot of potential yet it is difficult to believe that she cannot convince her husband to treat her differently. However, the minute a divorce is in sight, she becomes the bold woman that does not care what her husband thinks.

The movie also shows that marriages will always have challenges no matter how little. At the end, what really matters is that the couple involved is able to tackle their problems.

Characters

The characters could be better represented. In almost all the Nigerian movies I have watched (I have not watched too many), the career woman never has time for her family, and the needy husband always has to end up having a sexual relationship with the maid. It also always appears that every other person, including the viewer, knows or suspects when a man is cheating on his wife. However, the career woman is always oblivious to her husband’s apparent affair(s). Come on!!! Though, this has become a cliché of some sort in the Nollywood industry, I question the truth in this representation.

In this movie, it is difficult to tag a particular character protagonist or antagonist because these characters change based on the events that occur. However, if we are to tag people antagonists, then Susan’s mother-in-law will be one. She contributes to the discomfort in Susan’s marriage. Kate, the maid in the household of Charles and Linda, would also qualify as an antagonist because she is portrayed as a threat to Charles and Linda’s marriage.

The flat characters are Kate, the security guard, and the mother-in-law. These characters do not change or develop as the movie evolves. The round characters that change as the movie progresses are Susan, Kenneth, Linda and Charles.

The movie also has some stereotypical characters. From when Kate, the maid is first presented, we already expect that, given the circumstances in the household, she would have sexual relations with her boss’ husband. The gateman, on the other hand, as exemplified in many other Nigerian movies is a Hausa man. Though in reality, the man’s name is Edet, in the movie, he has a Hausa accent and he is portrayed as a dumb man that cannot properly purchase a box of pomegranate juice. If you ask me this is very improper and annoying. Our movies should not encourage these representations.

Symbolism

The symbols in the movie are evident from the characters. These characters represent more than they show. Susan represents the struggle for respect in her marital home. Linda represents the image of the independent woman, and Charles represents the force against the independence of his wife.

Unlike many other movies, the climax of this movie is not just one scene but a series of scenes which prepare the audience for the denouement. These scenes are well presented. The ending is good because though the movie ends, I think about various other ways the movie may have ended.

Genre

The movie falls into the family/drama genre, with some elements of comedy.

The movie attempts to show what is obtainable in the Nigerian society. It has the potential of passing messages of women empowerment across to its audience, but instead, it does the opposite. Notwithstanding, it is a movie I would recommend especially because it is funny. Overall, I award Mr. & Mrs. six out of ten stars.