"Fifty": Beyond The Romantic Drama

"Fifty": The Sociocultural Motifs And Nuances

Has anyone done a study on "Fifty", the 2015 Nollywood romantic drama?

This engaging narrative of contemporary lifestyles of upper middle class Nigerian society in Lagos city deserves to be studied for the sociocultural motifs and nuances.

The screenwriters Bola" Agbaje and Kemi Adesoye told us an untold story of upper middle class Nigerians in Lagos city that has not been told in motion picture since the emergence of Nollywood and I know, because I have followed the development of Nigerian TV and film since the 1970s to date and I can relate to the experiences of the four women and men  in mid-life crises of the existential realities and insecurities of life in their homes.

This particular story has not been told before in content and context of the lifestyles of the principal characters. The reviewers who said "Fifty" lacked depth don't know what is drama or are intellectually challenged.  I lived in Africa's largest megacity for decades among the lower classes to the upper classes to know the facts of life in Lagos that "Fifty" is actually fictionalised realities of true life experiences.
Ireti Doyle as Elizabeth is a romantic reality of Lagos life.
The best actress in the drama Dakore Akande as Tola gave an Oscar performance from the bossy attitude of a reality TV celebrity to the anticlimax exposing the genesis of her personality crisis and Omoni Oboli as Maria and Nse Ikpe-Etim as Kate acted their characters well without overdramatic performances of other Nollywood movies.

The Production Designer deserves an award and the cinematographer was good. Biyi Bandele had no better choice than to direct a well told sociocultural narrative of Lagos city of the 2010s.
The inclusion of the leading sociocultural icons of Lagos music; King Sunny Adé, Femi Kuti , Nneka, Tiwa Savage and Waje is significant for the completeness of the romantic drama with Wale Ojo as Kunle and Kachi Nnochiri as Chike, the troubled husbands going to the African Shrine ond later to the Casino to spend their sleepless night.
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By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,
Publisher/Editor
NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series.