SYMPHONY
1. The first positive of this movie is the plot. The plot does give a voice for struggling and upcoming artistes, and also the plight of many Nigerian youths in the hands of officers of the law. The storyline was quite relatable
2. The actors did make the storyline sink in especially the lead cast, it was easy following through.
3. Although, it can be said that many locations were used, however, the costume does substitute to catch the beauty of each scene.
1. The Sound sync sounding like a recorded voiceover, it could have been better considering the fact the plot is built on music.
2. Some needless or unnecessary cast. Some cast really had no relevance in the plot.
A good watch, relatable and beautifully scripted . Also entertaining if you're a music lover, and a fan of some bit of nostalgia.
‘Symphony’ as the title implies depicts everything music, it’s a no brainer Oraka Nvy Nnayelu’s intent in this musical drama.
Symphony follows the story of Slade. Young Slade despite having a rocky childhood, he has a dream, and a grandmother who raises him and is his support system. Slade (Kaleb “Mo Kross” Iyoha), carries his grandmother like a treasure. He spends all his time and the money he earns on her. His music soon hits the social media space, and he becomes the next big thing. On the side, renowned entertainer and music producer, Oladapo “D Banj” Oyebanjo in his acting debut plays Dj Bang, a talent developer and label owner. The interview with an OAP, Ogundairo Oluwaseun, implies that the artiste, King Lyrikal (Efa Iwara), had left the label after three years instead of the proposed five years in the contract. However, Dj Bang has no interest in suing, as we see him do on so many occasions in the movie.
The drama further unfolds when soon, Dj Bang picks interest in Slade and asks Lolitha, an artiste with Bang Label to fix a meeting. Lolitha (Sandra Okunzuwa) is young and dreamy and shares a close bond with her father. She’s an artiste with Bang Label, and is often under-estimated for being privileged. Well, it can be said that Lolitha does share similarities with popular Nigerian musician DJ Cuppy who many believe made headway in her career due to a rich father, similarly in the movie most people believe Lolitha is only in music because her father can afford the studio sessions. When Slade meets Lolitha at a party, it seems like it will become the classic “boy meets girl” story. However, Lolitha is quick to get things done, and Slade is quick to seize the opportunity. The movie further shows another dimension to the plot when Slade’s car is pulled over by policemen, and his facial expression says it all—disgust, irritation and anger. Soon they start to harass him, especially since he did a video criticizing the Force for their unwarranted attack on young people. Slade gets shot, and the policemen flee the scene. The drama keeps going on and on till the end,
Well, what’s there not to love in the new musical, Symphony? The movie unravels societal vices spearheaded by one of the worst plight of Nigerian youths, police brutality. It highlights the harassment, unjustified arrests and invasion of privacy experienced by struggling youths in the hands of officers of the law. From a Nigerian point of view, the movie does bring some nostalgia of the EndSars revolution of 2020.
The movie is a joint production by EverRise Entertainment and Sulcata Entertainment and was released in cinemas on September 9th, 2022.
The movie gathers a stellar cast that includes Ghanaian actress, Jackie Appiah; Lanre Hassan (Iya Awero), Kalu Ikeagwu, Scarlet Gomez, and Bolaji Amusan (Mr Latin), Kaleb “Mo Kross” Iyoha, Sandra Okunzuwa among others. It also features a few other celebrities (whose appearance add no relevance to the movie), such as socialite Mike Eze-Nwalie Nwogu (Pretty Mike of Lagos), and Niyi Lawal (ex-BBNaija season 6 housemate). Making their acting debut, Oladapo “DBanj” Oyebanjo alongside Kenyan singer, Tanasha Donna ace their roles.
The movie adopts the themes of family, love, dreams, fear, and heartbreak. From the chilling prologue to the final moments, each scene seemingly aligns with the other, and none is left unaccounted for. The story may not be original, but it has a fresh perspective. It also does not try to paint a glitz and glamour image for musicians; rather, it lets us in on the challenges faced by up-and-coming artistes. First is ignorance and desperation as shown in the plot which makes most of them go into enslaving contractual agreements and appearances.
Although Symphony does seem to set out to be a revolutionary piece of art, however, it does not totally escape the paws of flaws. The first of these flaw is the sound sync, which makes the movie seem like a recorded voiceover, though it was clear the director wanted to fill us on good music Also, besides the main characters, Slade and Lolitha, there is no character development for the remaining cast. However, this flaw is overridden by the laudable performance of the cast. Kudos to the costume team as well too.
Star Performer- Neutral
It does seem like one of those movies were all actors just did great, however, not having one pinpoint stand out performer.
Can do better Performer- Nil
