Phone Swap: A
Starring: Wale Ojo, Nse Ikpe-Etim, Ada Ameh, Chika Okpala, Joke Silva, Lydia Forson.
Director: Kunle Afolayan
A lot of high budget Nollywood movies are known for one thing, beautiful trailers. When you watch these beautifully done trailers, you cannot but be anxious to watch the movies. After watching these highly anticipated movies, you come out of the screening wondering what happened with a book full of things they could have done better. Phone Swap is the opposite. The trailer was fantastic and the anticipation it built was necessary because the movie turned out to be one of the best Nollywood movies of our time and all I can say is thank you Kunle Afolayan and Kemi Adesoye for directing and writing such an extraordinary film.
This movie was shot in Nigeria which is what makes it even more exciting. The Three locations depicted in the film were Lagos, Abuja and Owerri.
The plot of the movie focuses on a stern career man and an eccentric tailor and how they exchange lives due to a phone swapping mistake in the busy Lagos airport. The dialogue in the movie had no dull part. Every sentence led to the clarity of the movie. There was no line that didn’t deserve to be said.
The cast of the movie was obviously done by casting professionals because this was not the usual “use a popular person’ or “use my friend”. Nse Ikpe-etim can easily be named one of the best actresses of our generation. She gives the necessary reactions and is different in every role she is placed in. She executed her role in this movie with precision, perfect pronunciation and class. Wale Ojo, who is not too famous, will now become extremely popular. He is not the typical Nollywood leading man. He is not the hot young boy we always want to just stare at, but the mature fine man we also want to hear. He blended in his role perfectly and showed that he is not a one movie wonder but an actor who will last a lifetime in the Nollywood industry.
Chika Okpala also known as Zebrudaya was cast in a role that would hardly have fitted any other man. He gave the local feel we needed and showed himself as a real Igbo man. Ada Ameh played her role to perfection as well, and was the main comic relief in the film.
The genre of this movie will be tagged as a romantic comedy. With romance mainly implied and the comedy grossly shown in movement and heard in the dialogue.
The infusion of Mainly English, Yoruba and Igbo gave the movie the realism it needed. Naturally no one goes about in this country speaking only English and this was portrayed in the movie, with flawlessly done subtitles.
Will I recommend this movie to international communities that want to know more about my country? Yes, without a doubt. This is the movie you are proud to show off. It is a beautifully done film and we can’t wait for another collaboration from them in future.
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