This is why excellent filmmaking in the eyes of the audience is often not determined by how cinematic tropes are efficiently executed, the quality, camera angles, or shots, but by how well they can relate to the representation of reality on screen.
This makes a Nollywood short film like the Adeniyi Joseph Omobulejo-directed ‘Kill the Impostor’ a delightful and excellent representation. The film tells the story of an acclaimed writer, Salama (played by Susan Echa), who struggles to creatively document her story because of the challenges she is facing in her marriage.
The movie thematically explores delicate issues surrounding marital relationships, creative blocks, family interactions, and emotional turmoil.
I could relate so much to the creative problems of the lead because of my dispensation to writing and documenting stories, but what makes the storytelling unique is its excellent fusion of the narrative technique to adequately provide context and solutions for the viewers.
The movie does not only lay out problems and explore themes propelling the movie’s message, but it also provides practical solutions, like the voiceovers reeling off suggestions on how creative blocks could be channeled into telling stories that would be brilliant and relatable to the audiences we intend to address.
The movie’s essence is well-portrayed in showing the challenges of its main character, Salama, who navigates a tumultuous experience with her husband, Ezeonu (played by Patrick Dibuah), in facing her challenges — child-bearing demands, societal pressures on married women, and a lack of understanding of emotional depths from partners in a marriage— which all strain marriages.
The film does a great job in the cinematography department, as the shots are well-effected to fully portray the depths and the criticality of the project’s essence. The up-close camera shots of the characters effectively convey their pain and vulnerability to the viewers.
The characters execute their roles flawlessly, bringing the rawness of the core themes and essence of the film to life. The movie also kills it with the grading, lighting, production, and sound design.
The result is a beautiful exposition of injustice, and how the pressures on women affect their emotional and mental abilities to fulfil and actualize their duties, dreams, and ambitions.
It exhibits the arrogance portrayed by male chauvinistic characters, as seen in how pleas towards reconciling with Salama are not met with an apology from her husband, Ezeonu.
It also examines the harsh realities of unrealized ambitions, and how our battles could hinder our projected dreams and visions (Salama’s challenges led her to discard a promising draft of her story).
‘Kill the Impostor’ is a perfect documentation of vulnerability, repressed dreams and the imposter syndrome which can hinder one’s gifts and talents. Like the title implies, the movie calls on the viewers to stand firm in the face of life’s challenges and refuse to give in to the imposter standing in the way of our dreams and aspirations.
The movie is currently streaming here.
Critic’s Rating: 7 stars out of 10.
