Lionheart (2019)
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Lionheart Movie Review
Lionheart is a 2019 Nigerian drama film directed by and starring Genevieve Nnaji. It’s a clichéd, but very well-acted and charming film.
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“Just doesn’t seem fair“
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Looking to prove her worth, a woman steps up to the challenge to work with her crude and eccentric brother when her father, Chief Ernest Obiagu is forced to take a step back due to health issues. At first, she doesn’t get the job, but eventually she does in a very clichéd, predictable finale.
The film is straightforward and predictable throughout, but that approach led to it being simple and effective in what it was trying to accomplish – portray sexism in Nigeria, and the overall interactions between men and women in the workplace. I found everything here quite realistic, and despite its unwillingness to go into unexpected territory, the movie was quite moving.
That’s because you simply gotta root for Adaeze Obiagu. She is such a likable, well developed central character who thankfully never becomes just a symbol for feminism, but is well fleshed out, and actually endearing. She is very easy to cheer on, in particular due to the actress.
Yes, Genevieve Nnaji here delivered one of the year’s finest performances. She is so believable, so charming and so competent in the main role that she elevated both the character, and especially the material. She’s terrific.
I wish I could say the same for her direction, but I cannot. The film is very weakly directed as Nnaji did not manage to elevate the material with her direction the same way she did with her acting. Everything here is standard and serviceable, but rarely at all great.
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Lionheart is well acted by everyone, though. And the other characters are also very good with the standouts being her dad, and in particular her wonderful, also quite funny uncle. The relationship between the two is superb.
I also liked its dialogue as a lot of its conversations are excellent, and very sweet. You could see the love pouring from this family owing to their terrific interactions, and the chemistry between the actors. I just wish the film dealt with its theme in a more sophisticated manner.
Lionheart is a solid film that effectively portrays sexism in workplace in Nigeria. It is very straightforward, highly predictable and also quite weakly directed by Genevieve Nnaji. But on the opposite side of things, her acting performance is terrific, and she successfully elevated both the character and the overall material. The movie is clichéd, but charming. It would have been a perfect potential nominee for the Academy had they not stupidly eliminated it due to it being filmed in the English language.
