“The street is a tough place, not for the weak. You either toughen up or the wolves of the street will devour you” is a mantra repeated one too many times for a film that shows almost no depiction of the “streets.” The vagueness of this statement in relation to the plot of Kayode Kasum’s latest film serves as an example of how underdeveloped almost every aspect of the film is.
One Too Many revolves around the traumatic lives of a single mother, Adesuwa (Dakore Egbuson-Akande), and her son, Otas (Chimezie Imo). Adesuwa’s loving and devoted father, Amos (Ikponmwosa Gold), will do anything for Adesuwa to continue her education, and he shows this when he is shot by some rogue policemen; he sacrifices his gunshot wound treatment for her education. But Adesuwa’s family has not nearly seen the last of police brutality. While running an errand for her mother, Adesuwa is cornered and raped by policemen, becoming pregnant as a result.
Unable to bear the shame, she runs away from home and raises her son alone. Years later, Otas too experiences his share of police brutality when trigger-happy policemen attempt to falsely pin the murder of his best friend Eric (Joshua Richard) on him. Although he’s convinced that he did it, his mother and recently reunited sister, Ehi (Omowumi Dada), discover that the police are hiding something and will do everything to save him from definite jail, including telling her own truth to break the cycle of generational trauma.
As the film progresses, it becomes increasingly obvious that the quality of the writing falls short of the story being told. The story is an intimate one, but the plot barely delves into the relationships that make it so. We see indications of a close relationship between Adesuwa and Otas. Despite her overprotection and overbearing, Otas appears to be acquiescent to his mother, but soon after being remanded in prison for a few days, Otas loses hope and inexplicably becomes dismissive towards his mother. Also, the subplots are poorly set up. Often rushed and happening out of nowhere, we learn one damning piece of information after the other without a proper premise for any of the situations, and this creates a discordant plot progression.
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In a film whose emotional hook is meant to be the trial of an innocent individual, the setup of the primary conflict is less than desirable. The progression of the plot from that point on becomes confusing. At some point, it seems Eric’s senator father has been pulling the strings to ensure Otas ends up in jail, a motivation that would be justified. Soon, it looks like it’s the police who want him incarcerated at all costs. Then we start to wonder what stake they had in the matter. In essence, how are we meant to root for Osas and his family when we do not know that he is innocent?
One feature that Nollywood films almost never get wrong is the depiction of the Nigerian police force, especially when they are depicted in a negative light. Due to the general belief in their incompetence, even inadequate depictions end up making sense. While the portrayal of the police force in One Too Many is almost caricature-esque, it fulfills its purpose by showing their incompetence at being incompetent.
In a film filled with numerous emotional scenes, the actors do not do any justice to their roles. Adding almost nothing to their characters, the cast, barring Ikwonmosa Gold’s cameo, gives bland and disjointed performances. The cast’s blank looks, poor body movement, and line delivery are mostly the result of an obvious absence of directorial guidance in their interpretation of their characters.
One Too Many is a film with potential for societal poignance, however, the absence of quality writing to express this story, further exacerbated by a weak directing influence on the story makes it a film that has failed its purpose.
One Too Many premiered on Netflix on February 23.
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Side Musings
- I find it unlikely that the Otas portrayed in the film would have the courage to pick up a gun and wield it so carelessly.
- If only they could have watched Anatomy Of A Fall before this.
- Stories can happen anywhere. Why shoot at one location and pretend it’s another? limiting the cinematography to caged shots to protect the lie.
- What “street” exactly do they keep yapping about in the film?
- Fear police.
