‘A Silent Cry’ (Ekun Asunsinu) is the debut film from the stable of Titan Productions. Parading a galaxy of stars from Yoruwood, as the indigenous film scene in the southwest is often termed, the film, distributed by Kene Mkparu’s FilmOne, is directed by Desmond Elliot.
Mr. Elliott enjoyed some measure of success directing Yoruwood actress, Dayo Amusa in last year’s crossover attempt, ‘Unforgivable’. So, it makes natural sense that he would be invited once again to crack this tale of family, betrayal and the power of the spoken word.
Tomiwa (Toyin Aimakhu) is a sheltered child from a privileged background. Her parents, (played by Antar Laniyan and Ayo Adesanya) pretty much act like she and her sibling do not exist as they hustle to keep the family in the posh lifestyle that everyone has become accustomed to. Once Tomiwa secures admission into the university, it is only a matter of time before her naivety gets the better of her and she falls prey to the first sharp guy who comes her way. As a result, she betrays her parents’ trust and her father banishes her from the family.
Like the many Yoruba films before it, ‘A Silent Cry’ has strong moral inclinations and this one is particularly busy as a beehive, offering an endless selection of life lessons for viewers. Whether it is the evils of absentee parenting, the need to choose our words carefully, the dangers of peer pressure or the importance of listening to our parents, there is no shortage of teachable moments. They even throw in an all-you-need-to-know aside on HIV/AIDS, just in case you were born last year and have not gotten up to speed yet on the menace of the disease.
The film is pretty square in its ambitions and the only qualities that set it aside from your regular Africa Magic Yoruba fare are the picture quality and top notch work from the cast. Elliot’s directing is a problem as usual, as he just goes through the motions, scene by scene, moving the story along without any iota of excitement or flashes of brilliance. Instead, we have here, poorly edited scenes where extras, clearly visible for audiences to see, get entangled in scenes they have no business in. An off-putting attempt at a score does not tally in any way with the message and tone of the film.
Perhaps, the director wasn’t inspired by the quality of the script available to him to work with. ‘A Silent Cry’ packs so many dramatic moments into the scanty running time and keeps adding more ingredients, one at a time until the pot overflows and its contents make for a festering mess.
There are many other ways the story could have been simply and tastefully executed, had the producers chosen the less flashy route. Instead they keep throwing half boiled plot reveals, weird coincidences and bad dialogue into the mix.
Toyin Aimakhu who plays the lead, Tomiwa, makes the most of what is available to her and impresses even, with her delivery. Hers is not a particularly likeable or memorable character but she brings some grace and dignity to the part only to end up succumbing to the outrageousness that is the film’s final act. Even veteran players like Antar Laniyan and Ayo Adesanya are defeated by the messy ending.
There is something not quite right about Dayo Amusa and Bimbo Thomas playing 20-something-years-old undergraduates but they are having so much fun at it that the performances become infectious even when they lack discipline. Amusa in particular, gets credit for her send up of the clichéd roommate/best friend role. Aimakhu even calls in a favour for her beau Adeniyi Johnson, who unfortunately is not a very good actor. There is no on-screen sizzle between the couple and he is tolerable only because of his good looks.
Subtitled in English, the many glaring errors restrict ‘A Silent Cry’s ambitions for cinematic appreciation. It works better as a regular television staple.
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