The Party tells the story surrounding the death of Akinbobola Balogun, a young married man who suddenly drops dead on the day an elaborate party is thrown for him. At the centre of the investigation is his principled wife, who finds herself in that position because she was never in the good books of those close to her husband. To her husband’s friends, she came and stole their friend from them, and so she deserves to be demonised. To her mother-in-law, she believes the wife killed her son because she holds strong to the words she heard from a seer. The rest of this series takes viewers into the backstory leading to the true cause of Akinbobola’s death.
Yemi Morafa directed the series, which stars Kunle Remi, Segun Arinze, Uzor Arukwe, Ayoola Ayolola, Kehinde Bankole, Motunrayo Balogun, Shaffy Bello, Femi Branch, Yomi Fash-Lanso, and Bimbo Manuel, among others.
The movie opens with a poolside party for Akinbobola, portrayed by Kunle Remi, whose body suddenly drops from the upper floor of his father’s house into the pool. This created panic, with the police stepping in to investigate the death. I don’t think I like how the movie started. I quite understand that the directors were trying to tell the story from the ending before taking viewers to the background. However, the beginning lacks the sense of urgency that would have pulled viewers in. I only started getting interested in the movie when Akinbobola’s mother, portrayed by Shaffy Bello, had a dialogue with an Apostle inside a car. That was where the backstory began to come into play.
Shaffy Bello and Ayoola Ayoola stand out
Shaffy Bello and Ayoola Ayoola displayed the best acting in this series. Those actors are naturals because their drama was a perfect blend and not pushed. I thought the choice of Kelechi Udegbe as a detective wasn’t spot on because he had the appearance of a Constable, the one you usually meet at the counters at police stations. If Ayoola Ayoola didn’t already have a role, I believe he would have killed that role. Kunle Remi was laid back. After all, his character was a dead man, and the focus wasn’t really on him. Kehinde Bankole played her role well by being the lady who placed a wedge between her husband and his longtime buddies. Even when the friends still tried to control Akinbobola, she was always around at the right time to prevent it on the basis that he was no longer single.
Technicalities on point
The movie has some scenes with amazing lighting. For example, the scene where Akinbobola’s mother was consulting an Islamic Alfa looked like something from a Hollywood movie. Additionally, the lighting in the nightclub scene where Akinbobola and his friends were partying was impressive. The editors did well to create a club vibe with the ambient sound not overshadowing the dialogue. It felt natural. The colour grading employs rich contrast and well-controlled highlights, but nothing extraordinary in terms of a pushed look. The colour grading is almost close to what you find in the Netflix movie, Mea Culpa.
The Party receives a 6/10 due to technicalities and is recommendable. Mind you, there is a nude scene in the first episode. So, if you’re not sold on seeing such things in movies, you might need to keep the remote control close by to skip the scene.
