Cast: Nadia Buari, Taye Arimoro, Ilana Ally, Durotimi Okutagidi, Iyke Michael, Chisom Hillary, Patrick Star
Director: Great Valentine Edochie
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Despite socio-cultural advancements, today’s Nigeria is still largely conservative, especially when it comes to issues like surrogacy and the choice to remain childfree.
So, something like surrogacy may dominate the social discourse, a lesser-known topic, such as the desire to stay childfree, is seldom talked about.
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But what happens when a man decides not to have kids and his significant other mistakenly falls pregnant?
Plot
Back in 2009, Chinaza (Ilana Ally), a university student, lost her parents at a very young age. Her boyfriend at the time, Ejike (Durotimi Okutagidi), promised to be beside her through her time of grief, a promise that would shape their future.
But there is a clog in their wheel of romance. She’s pregnant for him, and he’s vowed never to have kids.
He asks Chinaza for an abortion, which she refuses, understandably. Their continued bickering causes her to lose the pregnancy, so they part ways.
Sixteen years later, now a grown woman with two teenage kids on her hands, Chinaza (Nadia Buari) needs the services of a lawyer and, by some stroke of destiny, finds herself in Ejike’s (Taye Arimoro) office.
Even though she is in a relationship with Mr Dennis (Great Valentine Edochie), she has a heartfelt talk with Ejike, and they rekindle their love.
However, fueled by an aggrieved lover, a dark secret from their past resurfaces and threatens to upend the perfect life they have going.
Review
If you love predictable romance movies and are ready to look beyond plot holes, then ‘What Remains of Us’ is for you.
According to the movie, Ejike, his mom and sister all have Lynch Syndrome mutation or Hereditary Nonpolyposis Colorectal Cancer (HNPCC).
The other two die because it is regressive in women, while he survives.
As Ejike explains to Chinaza years later, his insistence on having an abortion is because he doesn’t want to pass cancerous genes down to his kids.
The movie educates us about the Lynch Syndrome mutation or Hereditary Nonpolyposis Colorectal Cancer (HNPCC), a fact that should leave the audience feeling more informed, but incorrectly paints it as dormant in men and regressive in women.
It is now left for the viewers to decide whether artistic license warrants such a scientific inaccuracy.
The film also faults continuity. Ejike is scheduled to hold a meeting with a new client on a weekend, which he complains about.
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At the same time, Chinaza has to prepare her kids for school on Monday morning because she’s in a hurry to catch up with the same meeting.
We understand the need for drama, but how does a lawyer as brilliant as Ejike receive briefs for a new client when she doesn’t have a clue who she is?
Another confusing aspect of the film is that Chinaza’s kids are twins.
Casting identical twins or getting one person to play a dual role might be difficult for a movie with a low budget.
But since they decided to opt for fraternal twins, it should have been established that both kids are twins instead of leaving viewers guessing the paternity of the child presumed to be younger.
In general, ‘What Remains of Us’ had all that is required to be a great movie, a potential that could have left the audience feeling hopeful, but it failed to exploit this potential fully.
Instead, it opted for straight-to-the-point lines and a recurring plot.
Verdict: 6/10.
