What comes to your mind when you see a movie title like; “What Happened At St. James”? A thriller, comedy or Drama? Whatever it is, you are likely going to be curious about what to expect? Is this movie a disappointment or a blockbuster? Well, you are about to find out.
What Happened At St James is a tragedy talking about what happens in mixed boarding house secondary school. The film starts with the death of an SS3 girl who is an only child of her mother. A school teacher is incriminated, and he is sentenced to jail for the little girl’s death.
Eventually, he is released on the condition of good behaviour and a broken back. Somehow, it is discovered that the incriminated teacher had nothing to do with the girl’s death. He simply took the blame in a bid to cover up for the actual killers. The question then is; if the teacher didn’t kill the girl, then who did? Against the popular belief that she died from a push, she was brutally raped and suffocated the death. The discovery heightens the suspense in the movie. They find out there is more to her death than many people know about. The film sets to unravel the mystery behind the death of the girl and how she died.
Let’s pick it from the movie’s title: It is almost impossible to see such a title and ignore it. There’s this curiosity that the title drives, and that is a good one for any movie. The moment you begin to watch the film, you are likely the fall in love. It is fast-paced, and the drama starts right from the first scene, which shows the girl’s death.
The storyline is real and touching. Nicely written and nicely delivered.
The subtle infusion of comedy in such a tragic investigative movie was also a good one and very balanced.
The director also did a good job. The connection between the past and presence is so seamless. The way the characters in the past were introduced in the present is also something worthy of note.
The actors were perfectly cast, and the synchronization between them was great. Great acting, great storytelling, great directing. The cinematography and production overall is also good.
There are, however, some flops here and there, and some of them are avoidable. For one, students in secondary schools wear house wears.
So why is it that the students in St James wear house wear but wear something else for preparatory classes? Also, the scene the students were speaking behind a house and no one came out? It just didn’t gel well.
Beyond the little flops, the movie is a great one worth watching. For ratings, it would be a 9/10
