A stream sweeping away everything in its path. The picture, designated here as "Journalist" (I came across the title "For a better life" and it seems more appropriate in meaning), became for me an acquaintance with modern Nigerian cinema.
To be honest, I was preparing to watch this film with some concerns, given the huge layer of cutting videos with Ugandan fighters of the lowest quality. However, things have turned out very differently here. Here, right now, I will outline the most important element that made the film give a rather high rating.
The director of The Journalist works very well with the atmosphere of the film. Initially, in the opening scene, we see Ehi, the main character of the picture, working as a muddler, escapes from an obese client through the bathroom window. And it seems that the film is set up for easy, perhaps even ironic viewing, because you do not know what to expect. I thought there would be some influence from classical French comedies, but I'm glad it wasn't.
As the plot develops, it becomes clear that playing a prostitute is not some jokes and jokes. The further Ehee travels this path, the more dangerous he becomes. And now it is more difficult to get rid of a persistent man at a “special” party, the decisions made by the heroine from the fascinating ones become fateful. Decisions that affect not just a successful work project, but life. And not just your own, which is much worse.
If at the beginning of the film there is a feeling that we will spin the story of the night butterflies of Lagos, which is interesting in itself, then closer to the middle, and then in the second half of the picture, the scale takes on gigantic meanings and where the loss of a shoe was important, it becomes scary for every action of Ehe, because it can turn into consequences that you do not even want to think about.
It is in this respect that the Journalist works for a hundred. There is no feeling that the plot sags and slows down. He is a little illogical, sometimes even naive, but the canvas, like a funnel, sucks every minute and more and more makes you empathize with the heroine, which, alas, is not fully disclosed. It was as if a little background was missing.
However, I may be picking on the film. To be honest, over time I stopped treating paintings with a share of skepticism and criticism. It may be bad, but I can't help it. I seem to be looking for excuses for mistakes and shortcomings, trying to stand in the place of the creators. And here, in the film, there are some weaknesses, but the story itself is presented with a chic national flavor, without unnecessary buffoonery and other curves.
“Journalist” is a hard and cold drama set on the tracks, as it turns out, a rather typical story for countries where social stratification is measured in light years and where a person can not always dispose of himself and his fate.
7 out of 10