Florence Uwaeme
‘Being Annabel’ tells the story of Emma (Oma Nnadi), a broke young lady whose male friend Joro (Alex Ekubo) pushes to take over her identical twin sister’s wealth after she commits suicide.
Unbeknownst of her and her male friend, she had to face her sister’s demons as well, not just her wealth. Through this impersonation, she is able to unravel the reason behind her sister’s suicide. That though didn’t come to her on a platter as it cost her friend, Joro.
‘Being Annabel’ is a film produced by Oma Nnadi and directed by Okey Zubelu Okoh. Set in Lagos state, Nigeria. The casts were able to convey the relatable message of their characters without much ado.
According to the story, Annabel and Emma which was played by the same person (Oma Nnadi) were identical twins that were separated at a young age. Annabel was raised by rich foster parents. She grew up to become a wealthy career young woman that could afford the finest things in life.
While Emma grew up moving from one uncle’s house to the other with series of sexual abuses as part of her story. She became the poor version of Annabel, as is with most poor people; she was not going to grab any opportunity to become rich overnight. Hence her immediate agreement with Joro to impersonate her dead twin sister in order to grab as much wealth as possible.
The film is themed on contemporary topics like Blackmail; the main reason Annabel took her own life after facing several threats from Nosa (Ken Erics), who after helping her kill and bury someone, resorts to blackmail her.
When the mental and emotional blackmail became unbearable, she decided to end it. Suicide; in recent times, People have opted for suicide as the easiest way to end their suffering.
I like how when Annabel jumped to her death, how real it looked; her scream ended when it should, the water splashed.
Asides the head of the cameraman or whoever it was that showed at different scenes, the film is a good one. Something else I noticed that wasn’t necessary was the immediate flashback that happened few seconds after Joro’s death.
The lighting and sound are commendable.
