The Film Genius

In recent years, no movie has come close to addressing a very fundamental family issue as Elevator Baby did, and that, with incredible artistry!

FIRST, THE STORY:

The story was not high-reaching with ambitious concepts and deep subject matters. It was simple and straight to the point, but delivered well enough to have my eyes well up towards the end.

The very first sequence shows a story many young and fun loving youths will easily relate to – having an overbearing mother who doesn’t understand that a young man needs to live his life. A mother who as it seemed in the earlier scenes, had quickly gotten over her husband’s death and moved on. This was Dare’s pain on the surface, and the obvious cause for his sheer disregard for his mom and step-father.

With the extent to which Dare went with insulting and humiliating his own mother, no sermon would have humbled him, but a firsthand experience of what it means for a mother to have a baby. And that he got, in the most awkward of situations!

There are some enriching backstories and subplots in the film, but shredding all of that, Elevator Baby skillfully teaches the first and most basic African family lesson – honor your parents!!

So much can be said about the story and the way it was delivered, but I’ve already given too many SPOILERS!

ACTING:

With Toyin Abraham and Timini Egbuson winning Best Actress and Best Actor respectively at the AMVCA7 awards, little is left to be said about the magic the actors brought to screen.

While I will be fair to note that the energy some of the extras and supporting casts brought did not in any way match the intensity and skill the likes of Shaffy, Toyin, Timini, and Emem brought to the film, their not so thrilling performances were easily shadowed by the outstanding performances of the latter.

Timini was a perfect fit for his role: young, impudent supposedly rich and obviously spoilt by his father (spoiler alert). His delivery was not in any way forced; he was simply exceptional.

Shaffy Bello! I can hardly think of anyone else to deliver her role! She was a warm wife where she needed to be and an intense mother where Timini was being a royal pain. You cannot underrate Shaffy’s performance anywhere you find it.

Toyin’s performance was the most real life performance you could get, considering she was 7 months pregnant while on set! She was the life of the film for me; her comedic performance will keep you glued to your screen till the last credits roll!

Brother Shaggi was a natural spice for the movie. You’d look forward to the next scene he was appearing in.

CINEMATOGRAPHY:

Every cinematographer dreams of elaborate sets with ample room to light and make “cinematic” camera movements.

The Elevator Baby did not afford Joseph (DOP) that luxury as the main set was an elevator (actually built from scratch in a living room). When you have limited space for camera dynamics, your worth as a cinematographer is severely tested and I’d even say his best shots were in the elevator, rather than in the other more spacious environments.

PRODUCTION DESIGN, VFX/SFX:

The elevator was constructed from scratch and you wouldn’t know if you weren’t told. It was a great feat on the side of the Production Design team.

As for Visual Effects, I wouldn’t score that a 100 percent not because it was poorly done, but because it wasn’t properly blended into the overall color of the film and that made it glaring that it was CGI rather than an actual footage.

The costume, props, make up and general production design was true to story and without the usual visual distractions you’d see when watching a movie. Other than the obvious lack of blood in the childbirth scene, it was superbly done!

POST PRODUCTION:

I thoroughly enjoyed the editing from start to finish. The picture was solid and beautiful; little wonder Tosin Igho and Bryan Dike bagged Best Picture Editor for the movie at AMVCA7. Although, I wonder just as much as you why their names were not in the crew list in the movie on Netflix.

In Niyi Akimolayan’s (producer) words, “Elevator Baby was made to empower young filmmakers and they proved themselves!”

An understanding of why the hype is worth it is because this is Akhigbe Ilozobhie’s directorial debut and the results speak for themselves!

Overall, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t stop reading this review and go see the Elevator Baby on Netflix right away! It is a thoroughly entertaining and mentally enriching film.