BLACKMAIL: - Obi Emelonye's new movie ups the stakes steeply

 

The release and screening of Obi Emelonye’s Blackmail in 100 UK cinemas might make history as the first Nollywood movie to achieve such a feat. But the cybercrime thriller starring O.C Ukeje ( Gone Too Far, Alan Poza), Nikolay Shulik, Allesandro Babalola and Julia Holden doesn’t look like a Nolly characteristically genre as much as its looks like a standard movie that was brilliantly executed.

An astounding piece of work that tells the story of a struggling actor, Ray Chinda (Ukeje), who was blackmailed by Russian cybercriminals led by Mighty Igor (Shulik), asking him to pay up or share a very naughty video of him on social media. This threat is coming at a time when Ray is going through a marriage crisis with his lawyer wife, Nikki (Holden). Igor (Shulik), also a sex trafficker with gambling issues, has problems, especially with one of his victims, Petra (Jelena Borosvksky). Her quest to bring down Igor’s operation, which led to her suicidal death, became the saving grace for Chinda. 

Blackmail is evident of Emelonye’s incremental progress since the release of his first directorial debut, Echoes of War, in 2004. The writer-director of other movies such as Last Flight to Abuja, Mirror Boy and TV series Crazy Sexy & Cool has ticked all the right boxes in putting this latest effort together; cleverly written script, good casting resulting in roles being interpreted properly with accompanying shots well arranged to reflect the mood, tones and overall audio-visual narrative.

'Blackmail' is a definite recommendation.