In defiance of a riveting and outstanding performance by Calistra Akenobo and a carefully crafted screenplay by Success Akpojotor, Chains is still loosely chained by technicality.
I fell in love with the dialogue (thanks to the scriptwriter once again) and a few good performances. Nonetheless, make no mistakes, the movie isn't perfect as I have yet to see a perfect movie. Ultimately, the cautious weave and soft treading on religious and karmic paths intrigued me through the admittedly heavy-handed direction and editing.
At the end of the day, Chains is caught up in a web of indecision on the kind of movie it wants to be. The mixing of themes of feminism, rape, and karma in a plate of "everyday life"; and serving it on a table of didacticism and seasoned with Christian moral values.
While she was fantastic whenever she graced the screen, aptly interpreting the naivety and desperation as well as wickedness and jealousy of her character who is unknowingly fulfilling the pronouncements of a curse spoken decades ago, Calistra Akenobo was not given ample time to showcase.
Again, 'Chains' is a dish moderately salted with themes of current mainstream tides sweeping rapidly across the earth. Its feministic stance was loud and subtle; and a fine weaving-in of Robert Greene's "48 Laws of Power" into the motion picture made it tasty. Despite the sour visiting of retribution of the parent's transgression on innocent children, its witty script is baked with humor and zest in almost every scene, especially Stella's (Calistra Akenobo) which is never a dull moment . Chains may be unpalatable at a point because of its making three innocent children pay for their forebear's mistake, but the message of forgiveness therapy is far-reaching for the human soul.
Chains may not be a great movie. It might not even be a good picture. But its power is embedded in the interpretation of its message.
I fell in love with the dialogue (thanks to the scriptwriter once again) and a few good performances. Nonetheless, make no mistakes, the movie isn't perfect as I have yet to see a perfect movie. Ultimately, the cautious weave and soft treading on religious and karmic paths intrigued me through the admittedly heavy-handed direction and editing.
At the end of the day, Chains is caught up in a web of indecision on the kind of movie it wants to be. The mixing of themes of feminism, rape, and karma in a plate of "everyday life"; and serving it on a table of didacticism and seasoned with Christian moral values.
While she was fantastic whenever she graced the screen, aptly interpreting the naivety and desperation as well as wickedness and jealousy of her character who is unknowingly fulfilling the pronouncements of a curse spoken decades ago, Calistra Akenobo was not given ample time to showcase.
Again, 'Chains' is a dish moderately salted with themes of current mainstream tides sweeping rapidly across the earth. Its feministic stance was loud and subtle; and a fine weaving-in of Robert Greene's "48 Laws of Power" into the motion picture made it tasty. Despite the sour visiting of retribution of the parent's transgression on innocent children, its witty script is baked with humor and zest in almost every scene, especially Stella's (Calistra Akenobo) which is never a dull moment . Chains may be unpalatable at a point because of its making three innocent children pay for their forebear's mistake, but the message of forgiveness therapy is far-reaching for the human soul.
Chains may not be a great movie. It might not even be a good picture. But its power is embedded in the interpretation of its message.
