Cast: Nse Ikpe-Etim, James Gardiner, Erica Nlewedim, Nancy Isime, Padita Agu, Mercy Aigbe, Caroline Hutchings Danjuma, Yemi Blaq, Tina Mba, Akin Lewis, Joshephine Ewor, Atlanta Bridget, Tayo Faniran, Dil Ajufo, Yomi Black, Moet Abebe, Constance Owoyemi, May Owen, Jessica Iroajanma
Director: Moses Inwang
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Run time: 137 minutes
Adora (Nse Ikpe-Etim) is the eldest of three siblings; Beatrice (Padita Agu) and Cheta (Nancy Isime).
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She lost her mum at a very tender age and was raised by her father and stepmother, along with two younger half-sisters.
Despite being the eldest, Adora is the butt of jokes because while Beatrice is married and Cheta is having her introduction, she remains unmarried.
Along comes Jaiye, a stylist whom she meets at Cheta’s introduction ceremony.
They go out on a date and get to know each other. Once a mutual attraction was established, things moved quickly between them.
Despite the eight-year difference between them, they quickly get married in the presence of family and friends.
Jaiye paints himself as an only child whose parents had him in old age and passed on in his early teens. He runs a fashion outfit with his cousin and business partner, Anna (Erica Nlewedim).
Adaora can’t wait to start having kids, as age is not on her side. Jaiye, on the other can’t wait to scale up his business and is not considering starting a family.
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Being financially successful, she invests in his runway show to speed things up. Also, she gets pregnant.
One storm followed by another, when Adora takes in the second time, Jaiye asks her to either terminate the pregnancy or forget about the marriage.
From there, everything spirals down, leading to infidelity, an unexplained hysterectomy, a jail sentence and prospects of double jeopardy.
Review
In ‘The Devil is a Liar’, nothing prepares viewers for how quickly things turn, and Adaora’s life spins out of control. From running a multimillion-naira empire to prison jump suits
For a film that parades fantastic actors, ‘The Devil is a Liar’ doesn’t quite add up.
Adora receives an anonymous text message that proves her husband is cheating. She traces him and runs him over with her car, which eventually leads to his demise.
This plays up the predictable nature of the film.
Everybody knows in Nollywood films, the struggling young man preys on his richer girlfriend. The real plot twist would have been Jaiye’s loyalty to his wife.
In addition to being riddled with unnecessary scenes, thereby making it a lengthy watch, ‘The Devil is a Liar’ leaves more questions than answers.
How does a man who ran a reputable fashion brand backed by international financiers, and was proclaimed dead in India, return to Nigeria and live a family life openly?
And then there is the unrealistic twist of Dr Bala (Yomi Black) carrying out an unauthorised hysterectomy on Adora and then living lavishly in a foreign land.
On the other hand, the movie opens the eyes of viewers to the existence of a white-collar crime where people seek treatment abroad and then fake their deaths to start afresh, whether real or not.
For all its failings, ‘The Devil is a Liar’ provides delightful acting that holds viewers’ attention for the entire two-hour duration.
Rating: 5/10
