Popular Nollywood actor, Ini Edo has been receiving praise for her recent movie production titled ‘Shanty Town’.
The movie star scored another hit in her career line by making her international debut with the production of the ‘Shanty Town’ movie for Netflix.
Chidi Mokeme, whose acting career spans over two decades, also delivered his role as ‘Scar’ excellently.
There were huge expectations placed on the six-part series released on Netflix platform on 20 January, 2023.
According to the movie review written by Shola-Addo Oladotun for Premium Times, Shanty Town is an action-packed drama series that explores the lives of sex workers, gang leaders, and corrupt politicians in Lagos.
It is the first original Netflix project of 2023.
The cast include Richard Mofe-Damijo, Ini Edo, Chidi Mokeme, Nse Ekpe-Etim, Shola Shobowale, Shaffy Bello, Ali Nuhu, Uche Jombo, Zubby Michael, Nancy Isime, Yaw Naija, Omowunmi Dada, Mercy Eke, Shola Sobowale, Regina Daniels, Judith Audu and Peter Okoye of PSquare.
In addition to the teaser materials and cast announcement, the premises of Shanty Town alone were enough to keep our fingers crossed in anticipation of some thrilling Nigerian drama.
Shanty Town’ is a story that surrounds three unusual prostitutes who unite to take down one of the biggest criminal rings in Lagos state.
In the project, Ini Edo also doubles as a lead character, where she plays the role of Ese equally referred to as ‘The Fire Brand’.
Chidi Mokeme’s performance sent chills down our spines through the role of Scar, Ini Edo making us root for Inem due to her versatility, Mercy Eke, who, despite being given few scenes, made us fall in love with her and cry when Jackie died, or Shaffy Bello, who doesn’t only deliver the lines but adds subtle social cues to make them more believable?
Shanty Town is a massive testament to how much Nollywood actors have grown by perfecting their craft.
The acting performances delivered by the cast were truly professional and had a stimulating effect on viewers.
The cinematography is another excellent feature of the film. The amount of expertise that went into filming each scene was noticeable. One scene that’s a great example to buttress this point would be the opening scene, where we are introduced to the Shangisha community. Everything from the camera angles to the bomb effect kept us on the edge of our seats.
There were also several political satires that referenced issues affecting our society. Although hidden, one could easily relate a few characters to certain prominent figures.
Chidi Mokeme delivers an excellent acting performance. His role as Chidi hits the ball out of the park. In addition to adequately portraying the complexities behind the character, he reminds us why we refer to him as the OG Nollywood lousy boy.
This would be the actor’s first role in a significant budget film within the last five years. The release of Shanty Town is a comeback for the talented actor who starred in early 2000s movies such as Abuja connection, Blood Battle, Anini, Saviour and Last Kobo.
While Shanty Town has a great concept behind it, the several tropes in it make the film lack a sense of originality. Rather than take a new spin on the tropes, Shanty Town follows the cliche route and focuses more on visual effects and stunts.
For example, the gang leader who works for politicians has been done before; a lady who wants revenge for her twin has also been done; two political rivals determined to make each other fall; and the sexualization of women through prostitution is a few crime dramas’ go to storylines.
The script makes matters worse, as watching Shanty town might make you wonder where the story is heading and what’s up with the bland dialogues. It is also predictable, as during the opening scene, one could easily assume that the shot twin wasn’t dead, so her character would run on a vengeful storyline.
The film dragged a lot due to some unnecessary shots. For example, the dance scene during Jackie’s freedom party could have been shown within a minute, and the fight scenes between the supporters felt like the producers were trying to tell us how much work went into the stunts.
It’s slowly feeling like Nollywood writers rely on the theme of “juju” to explain how a villain gains his power and becomes undefeatable. While it’s good that writers are exploring certain cultural elements, it was a sore sight in this series.
Following its release, Shanty Town can be easily described as mid-scale. Apart from the excellent acting performances, the series lacks a sense of originality and seems like a good example of what happens when the stories of ‘Oloture’, ‘King of Boys’, and ‘Blood Sisters’ are merged into one.
Nigerians have been reacting to the movie since it’s release on Friday on Netflix with many hailing Chidi Mokeme.
A tweep, @fabulousfairy said: “Chidi Mokeme deserves multiple awards for his role in Shanty Town. He bodied the role of the most terrifying villain to ever Grace Nigerian cinemas. It was almost like he wasn’t even acting 👏 👏 👏”
@UmegovValentine said the actor came back like he never left.
“Man came back like he never left!!! A legend remains a legend no matter years of retirement or a break you may have taken. You outdid your role Chidi.
“On the scale of 1-10 I score you 11/10🥳😅 @chidimokeme”
@UcheEbuka called the actor a legend. “Chidi mokeme, is a legend. For those who don’t know, he’s been at the forefront of Nigerian movie industry for the past 25yrs. I remember watching his movies in my childhood.
“A lover boy and a gangster. He might have taken a break from movie scenes, but he still got the talent,” he wrote.
“Chidi Mokeme immersed himself in that “Scar” character, you’d most likely forget what he look like in real life. lost in the character, perfect performance. ShantyTown,” @thebigdot reacted.
Boluwatife tweeted: “Did you see Ini Edo In Shanty Town? I thought she was the Heart and Blood of the series straight out of the beginning when their Hut was raided. It’s an Interesting series you should SEE. Thank me later! IniEdo”
@ohem_gist said: “The Rape Scene at that Shanty town looks so real. Ini Edo scene it was BRUTAL and it was so real. You should check this!”
In the same vein, @chukky_god wrote: “Ini Edo was everything and more in this shanty town . She did put in the work just wow!!! She did justice to her role to think that she is also one of the Executive producers of this movie she killed it . Anuty shaffy Bello you finish work too oo but Mercy Eke really surprised us.”