Currently streaming on Prime Video, Crossroads is one movie I would recommend despite some shortcomings I noticed about the film.
Set in what I think was the 70s, the movie tells the story of Eriola, a young lady from a well-to-do-home whose life took a bad turn after a decision to help a campus cultist evade police arrest. Thus began a love affair with a murderer after she was rusticated from school and disowned by her stern father.
The movie stars Aisha Lawal, Femi Adebayo, Deyemi Okanlawon, Lateef Dimeji, and Adebayo Salami, amongst others. It was directed by Tope Salami and Adebayo Tijani, and produced by Aisha Lawal.
Despite how much I like the story, some shortcomings turned me off.
B**bs scene
Before I could sit back and figure out the movie’s direction, I saw a scene that had Oyekan(Deyemi Okanlawon) with a lady inside a room. The lady was unclad and her b*bs laid bare. I’m still trying to understand why the directors threw that part in. Perhaps, that was a celebration of ndity, which I would advise Nollywood to avoid in its films.
Poor directing
Eriola (Aisha Lawal) accepting to allow Oyekan (Okanlawon) to hide in her room when he was getting chased by armed policemen didn’t quite sit well with me. How could that have been possible when, a few scenes back, she slapped the same Oyekan right in the middle of campus for whistling at her? She did that despite knowing that Oyekan was a dreaded secret cult lord on campus. That was almost as if an antelope stared at a lion in the face. Her actions made her friends fear for her life. I now wonder why the movie’s directors made Eriola agree to hide Oyekan in her room instead of showing him to the police. That would have been good riddance to bad rubbish and a way to ensure her safety.
To explain better, she rained insults on Oyekan on campus, slapped him and made it clear that a cultist like him is not the type to associate with. Despite that, the movie’s directors saw it appropriate to make her the type to grant Oyekan a hiding place from the police. That scene should have been directed this way: While trying to hide from the police chasing him, Oyekan badges in on a lady in her room at a female hostel. On realizing that that lady is Eriola who slapped him a few days ago, he picked up a knife from her dish rack and threatened her not to make any sound that might alert the police of his presence in her room.
The above is more convincing than having Eriola grant refuge to a person she detests so much that she even sent the police the wrong way when they inquired about Oyekan from her.
The scene where Eriola’s father ordered the police to arrest a worker who stole three broken eggs on his farm wasn’t necessary. I believe the directors did that to establish the man as a mean person.
Weak cinematography
The cinematography is below average. Despite the costumes and set designs designed to give the film a 70s vibe, I couldn’t get the vibe while watching it. You will understand what I’m saying when you see the movie and watch Oleku by Yemi Sodimu.
The Afros on the head of some of the actors didn’t look convincing. However, I liked the crazy Afro on Femi Adebayo’s head and the character he played. The lighting in the movie is unimpressive, especially the use of practical lights. A bedside lamp inside Eriola ‘s campus room was off while a lantern was on. If the set designers felt a lamp should be inside the room, they should have kept it lit. The directors kept the lamp off when it was supposed to be on. However, in the scene where a man comes to beg Eriola’s father on her behalf, a lamp is on, and it has no effect because the room is well-lit by natural light.
The major problem with Crossroads is that it lacks a unique look. The movie was not colour-graded but left in the Rec709 format. This made it lack a cinematic feel. The lack of colour grading made it look like it was shot with an Android phone. The producers need to watch Blacksmith (Alagbede) by Jaiye Kuti to understand what a dated movie should look like.
Good acting, weak fight scenes
Deyemi Okanlawon and Aisha Lawal delivered their roles well, and I must commend them for pulling me into the story. They also had good chemistry that was not forced. I think Deyemi Okanlawon delivered an Oscar-winning performance when Oyekan approached Adefela (Lateef Dimeji) with a gun in search of his kidnapped wife. His emotional outburst was convincing.
Another actor who did well is Femi Adebayo, who only appeared in a few scenes. His character was a no-worries fellow, and his costume was good.
Crossroads displayed a little bit of fighting that didn’t look convincing. The part where Oyekan stabbed the leader of the gang that abducted his wife was awkward. The blood that gushed out after the stabbing was too fake. The part is better off without the graphics done to depict blood.
Crossroads gets a 6/10. The story had the potential to arrive at a 9/10 movie, but I believe a low budget marred it. Despite its flaws, it is still a good watch. If it had half of the resources that made the film Water and Garri, it would have gotten a 9/10, and if Water and Garri had its kind of story, the movie wouldn’t have gotten widespread negative reviews.
