Movie review: ‘Kill Boro’ is an interesting film with good storyline
Kill Boro tells the story of a repentant gangster, Boro, in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, who is now struggling to cater for his family as a mechanic. With too many bills piled up and debts owed, the only way out seems to be a return to the underworld.
I would recommend the movie because of its good storyline. I believe it deserves a 6/10.
Kill Boro casts Phillip Asaya, Ini-Dima Okojie, Kosiso Ogboruche, Greg Ojefua, Blessing Uzero, Beloved Osagie, Michael Dappa and Hilda Dokubo. It was written by Priye Diri, directed by Courage Obayuwana and produced by Native Media.
There are some things about the movie which I dislike. One such is the scene where Boro comes home drunk and beats his wife, Boma, and son, Elijah. The reason for this action is just too weak. The directors’ decision to make Elijah refuse to greet Boro properly wasn’t enough to build the tension that got him and his mother beaten. I think the directors ought to have done it this way:
Boro comes home drunk and requests his food from his wife. Upon seeing the poor food he is served, he expresses displeasure and wonders why his wife can’t cook any better meal than she always presents to him. In response, Boma reminds him that he doesn’t have the right to say that the food is poor since he doesn’t provide money frequently. In the process of being angry at his wife’s response, Boro’s son steps into the house. He calls the boy and asks why he didn’t come to help him out at his mechanic workshop. With no response from Elijah, Boro probes further to know if his son even washed the clothes he told him to wash before leaving the house. Elijah’s silence is taken to mean he disobeyed the orders, so Boro pounces on him and also beats his mother, who rushed to his defence.
Another thing I dislike about the domestic violence scene is the soundtrack used. I think the soundtrack separated me from the dialogue and action. The soundtrack in that scene gave me the vibe of a neighbour blasting music so loud you find it difficult to understand the words you read from a book. Without the soundtrack, I would have been drawn into the dialogue, and the action would have seemed real. The directors, however, do well in the scene where Boma advises Boro to go and borrow money from Bossman. The dialogue in that scene is very strong, and I feel it because there is no distracting soundtrack.
The best acting in Kill Boro didn’t come from the lead actors but Gentle and Jaguar. Both men played their short roles well and gave off this Niger Delta militant aura. Poor acting came from Kosiso Ogboruche. This is due to the poor choice of actor. Kosiso Ogboruche looked and talked so much like an ‘Omo mummy,’ not a street rat raised in a harsh environment. I cringed at the script that always had him saying he wanted his father dead to stop the man from beating his mother to death and aborting her pregnancy. It just seemed fake and unrealistic. Fusing a bad script and an unfit actor killed the character.
I liked the locations used in the movie as they gave off this Niger Delta vibe. On set design, I can’t say much about that because nothing looked extraordinary. However, those in the lighting department did well in the night scenes. They allowed darkness to express itself, unlike other Nollywood movies that use floodlights to make everywhere look bright, like a supermarket, even when the scene is a rural area. The only grouse I have with them is the lighting in the domestic violence scene. The lights blasted in from outside the window, which looked too bright and failed to achieve the purpose of mimicking moonlight. When Boro and his wife’s argument intensified, the light mimicking moonlight started fluctuating. I thought that was done to mimic lightning, indicating it was about to rain. Sadly, no rain, strong wind or thunder accompanied the effect.
