An obnoxious character of a woman who comes to terms with the worlds ever present and widely acknowledged feature ‘change’. ‘Mannerless’ throws more light on the ability of human beings to succumb to change when presented with the right ingredients. A more constructive writing style and some level of confident directing could have raised the stakes of the movie.
It is not a coincident to see that the directing style of ‘Mannerless’ follows the same trend as ‘Better Half’ considering the fact that both movies we directed by Nwosu Abagana. Winnie (Stephania Bassey) is a woman who will only date or get into a relationship with a rich man who can afford her expensive lifestyle. As if that is not enough to ask, she can literally carry you to the gutter with her loud tongue. Phil (Chide Dike) is a very wealthy young man who will want a woman to love him for who he is and not for his money.
Phil will have his cousin take his place as the rich guy who has everything at his disposal, as he assumes the role of a colleague from school who has got nothing. Phil loves Winnie, but not the arrogant and disrespectful one. Jakes (Eronini Osinachim), Phil’s cousin starts a relationship with Winnie, which eventually will lead to nothing. But he had to do it for his rich cousin who wants to get closer to Winnie.
Phil received his first share of insults and disrespect from Winnie when he went to her house to deliver gifts he bought for her in the name of his cousin Jake. Phil and Jake seem to be playing a game that will blow up in their faces in the near future. But who cares, when you have money you can do anything that pleases you. You could see the disdain with which Jake treats Winnie contrary to the affection Phil is showing from afar. A notable theme that was well communicated by this move is that of ‘change’.
You might pause this movie to reply to some text messages and then continue watching because there was no real tension among the characters. You don’t get that feeling that puts you on the edge of your seat eager to see what will happen next. Granted, you will enjoy some drama here and there, but the truth still stands, the story did not give the characters more to do. Not forgetting the strict adherence to the idea of the writer, that Phil and Winnie must fall in love at all cost.
Individually, the actors did their best with regards to performance as far as the story allowed them to. Stephania though sometimes out did herself, she brought the character Winnie to life. The gentle and smooth talking Chide followed his usual style. Charm the ladies with your looks and they will not pay attention to your acting. Eronini embodied the character Jake quite well, though the script let him down.
‘Mannerless’ is a movie that will give you the drama you want to see, one or two plot twist here and there. Overall, you will enjoy the movie if you are a fan and a follower of the works of Ruth Kadiri.
‘Mannerless’ is currently streaming on YouTube at RuthKadiri247.
