THY Will Be Done

OBI EMELONYE FILM

Produced by Obi Emelonye and Mary Njoku

Screenplay by Tobe Osigwe

Rating – 7/10

Reviewed By – Vivian Nappier

Trailer – Thy Will Be Done

“Thy Will be Done” is a 2015 Drama/Thriller, written by Tobe Osigwe, Directed by Obi Emelonye (Last Flight to Abuja, The Mirror Boy) and produced by Obi Emelonye and Mary Njoku. It consists of a stellar cast (Ramsey Nouah, Mercy Johnson, Jide Kosoko and Mary Njoku) which brings one of our worst nightmares to reality.

“Thy Will Be Done” tells the story of a happily married pastor who is thrown into a state of confusion of having to choose between keeping his title or stepping down and into a polygamous home, when his first wife rises from the dead.

PLOT SUMMARY

Munachi (Mary Remy Njoku) pours General Dele (Jide Kosoko) a cup of tea as the summons from Pastor Pius (Ramsey Nouah) airs on TV. As she turns to leave, she recognizes Pius and passes out.  The next day, she goes to the church as Pius gives his morning summons. He freezes at the sight of her and ends his service abruptly; his wife, Lucy (Mercy Johnson) follows him to the back room. Pius and his assistant, Tony (Tony Aclet) discuss the event, it is revealed that Munachi was his late wife with Pius confirming to have buried her with his own hands. They drive to the Social Advocate handling Munachi’s case, she shows them Munachi’s file. Still in doubt, Pius receives a call from Munachi’s father and they set off to his home.

Few minutes after arriving, Munachi steps out of hiding and they share a passionate embrace. He takes Munachi with him to his matrimonial home.

Lucy goes to see a doctor who also happens to be her cousin, he confirms that she is ovulating, Lucy gets excited as she and Pius are trying to have a baby. The doctor advises that her womb is damaged and there are other options, Lucy stands by her faith, ruling out any other option.

A flashback shows that on Munachi and Pius honeymoon, they get interrupted by the highly intoxicated best man and Pius offers to give him a ride home, leaving Munachi alone in the hotel.

In the presence, Lucy returns home upset to find Munachi in their home. She questions Pius on how Munachi returned from the dead and into their home, Pius states he can’t let her leave as it is technically out of his hands and she is his responsibility. Munachi tries to leave but he persuades her to stay. Together, they all stay in a drama filled home, rumors starts spreading and his role as a pastor on the line.

Lucy, also a barrister and advocate for women, counsels a physically abused woman and help with the arrest of the woman’s husband.  The next day during breakfast, Lucy threatens Munachi about having set a man’s penis on fire in the past as a revenge move. An investigator shows up at the door asking for Munachi. He takes her to an interrogation room, demanding to know what happened the night of her honeymoon with Pius and where she has been hiding. She states she lost her memory all these years and regained it when she saw Pius on TV.

A flashback shows that she was kidnapped, her wedding gown switched with a female victim’s clothing who was killed in the process. She wandered off after the kidnappers let her go and got hit by General Dele’s vehicle, causing him to lose his leg in the process and her, her memory. The Investigator states they will continue the next day.

Lucy seeks advice from colleagues, they recommend it’s not a case she can win as Pius and Munachi are legally still married. She tries to leave out of frustration but Pius reassures her of their love and they consummate the moment, making love as Munachi angrily makes dinner in the kitchen. The tension continues to grow and Pius does all he can to please both women.

On the date of Pius and Munachi supposed wedding anniversary, Pius goes to Munachi’s bedroom and presents her with a wedding gift, they make love. Pius eventually steps down as a pastor, Munachi gets pregnant, Lucy eventually discovers that Munachi had a 3 years old daughter still living with General Dele. She brings the child to their home but completely shattered to see that Pius was accepting and forgave Munachi. Exhausted and frustrated, Lucy decides to take matters into her own hands which ends fatally.

END OF SUMMARY

Great production, stellar cast and very entertaining movie overall, I was also impressed with the diverse crew behind the camera. This was a beautiful collaboration and a movie that truly shows that a lot of hard work was invested in it.

The cinematography was beautiful and done by Keidrych Wasley, a London-based DP (Director of Photography) with a master’s degree in Cinematography.

The aerial photography was impeccable, great job from Horizon A P. I actually looked up more of their work and was really impressed with the Aerial filming in Lagos. It captured all the beauty and richness Lagos had to offer!

Sound was impeccable for a Nollywood movie; great directing and the actors were on point. The editing was great also, no unnecessary scenes thrown in for length purpose, although the last name for Wasley was spelt wrong and written as Hasley

and a bad, low quality stock footage was thrown into the ending scene which ruined the beautiful cinematography of the movie. The movie was edited by Editor, Ben Nugent, a Film Editor in the UK, who was also responsible for the beautiful editing in “Last Flight to Abuja”. 

   

The CGI Blood is an absolute NO! I was even more disappointed to see the marking effect of where the CGI Blood was to be placed. I honestly think Nollywood needs to return to practical fake blood for shoots till the act of CGI blood improves in our industry… not that CGI Blood is ever acceptable with open arms.

  

The story itself had some pit falls, which left me disappointed at the end. The first half of the movie was very entertaining and engaging but as soon as it got to its Midpoint, everything started falling apart.

First was Munachi’s father – I am still unsure if he actually knew Munachi was alive all this while. With his welcoming of Pius, he didn’t look an inch surprised about Munachi’s reappearance and they never really discussed it.

The story paints Lucy in a negative light, from being a supportive wife to a psycho who will do anything to avenge those who wronged her. But at the same time blaming the craziness on her fertility treatment… which one is it? Is she plain batch crazy or just ridiculously emotional because of her fertility treatment? Either way, making her the antagonist makes the story weak because at the end, everyone ran away from their main problems and responsibilities, leaving the real conflict in the air.

Munachi is perceived to be the good wife but is she really? How does she justify having a 3-year-old daughter? Perhaps because she had no memory of Pius and moved on having a child, despite being a maid to the General but I find her character extremely irresponsible, selfish and self-centered. A woman who abandons her child with a disabled man who nurtured her, all in the name of love is beyond selfish. She never mentions nor checks in on her daughter for over 2 months of living with Pius. Even after getting pregnant for Pius, still doesn’t bother to mention her daughter nor the General. How was she so confident that the daughter won’t be thrown out on the street by General Dele while she got her makeover with Pius? All these are sadly not addressed in the movie.

Everything came and went easily for Pius. The acceptance was way too easy; it actually bothered me that he was slowly and indirectly playing the victim card. Considering we are going a reality route, why didn’t he bother to know where she had stayed for the past 7 years, or ask what she has been doing or better yet, look into her case to see if she was a phony? When the social advocate presented Munachi’s file to Pius to read, wasn’t there any reference in there that showed she had a daughter? If the daughter was a big secret, is General Dele responsible for the pregnancy? The idea to throw in the secret child came across like a rushed decision lacking structure to hold it firm.

I didn’t see the need of the interrogation scene. Yes it helped with putting the flashback story together but that could have easily been achieved with Munachi or her father telling Pius the story. What was the real purpose of the interrogation? Was the investigator just looking for some sort of closure because the thief’s got away in the shoot out? He said we will continue tomorrow but we never see the conclusion to that interrogation.

Considering the man she lived with for 7 years was a General, wasn’t there anyway or means of looking up her identification or reports of missing women to trace her back to her husband?

Just out of curiosity, how was Munachi still standing after many direct blows with a pretty solid stick to her stomach, and being hanged for several minutes while a police shoot out occurred and all the while 6 weeks pregnant? With all that serious direct hit to her stomach, I am amazed she didn’t bleed out or better yet, pass out!

Overall, beautiful movie, I hope Nollywood continues to spread their wings and welcome diverse collaborations and lessons in order to achieve a global cinema audience. Well done to everyone involved in this movie!