By Enitan Abdultawab

Sometimes, I wonder what the point is loving someone who has no clue how much you love them – Tayo

In a realm where love has been diversified into different narratives, LordTanner comes up with a clutch of art. Producing one of September’s most masterful pieces of art, A Young Time Ago is pretty quick to put viewers into a box of mixed feelings and reactions. The box — a space of love, emotions, friend-zones, revenge, and despair — is perfectly suited to render the movie a work of youth demography.

Starring the likes of Sophie Alakija, Wale Ojo, Timini Egbuson, Favour Ayah, Mofeyintola Jebutu, Sandra Okozuwa, Charles Jaybi, Tolu Osaile amongst others, A Young Ago draws from the memories of the past to tell the situation of the present day, with a succinct and well-delivered use of flashbacks, viewers are treated to a warm embrace of romance between Sandra Okozuwa and Daniel Etim-Effiong in the opening of the movie and there seems a traditional expectation of both ending up as lovers when the play climaxes. But LordTanner has other plans. It’s pretty good to see how credible LordTanner brings about a reunion of two friends-now-turned-lovers after years of separation, including a ten-year imprisonment.

Synopsis

Set in the ‘old’ University of Ibadan, LordTanner’s production captures Tayo’s escapades as a young lover who gets ‘friendship’ in return. Inevitably, Tayo suffers from ‘friend-zoning’ and eventually seeks to avenge his lover’s troubles when she is raped by Magic, a popular artiste outside the school campus acted by Timini. As much as cultism used to be a mainstay social pandemic in most Nigerian universities, Tayo’s only solace is his affinity with the ring leader of a cult group.

However, the revenge gets awfully awry as Magic gets killed while he tries to escape. This single act steadies the plot of the movie as controversies hover around the death of Magic, the Senator’s son. As the movie drags further, an open conversation between Tayo and his friend reveals his secret as the instigator of Magic’s demise. Tayo bags a ten-year imprisonment while the cult group gets life imprisonment.

Thematic Allure

In present Nigerian social realities, love does not exist in a vacuum any longer. Young lovers tend to abandon despair and disappointment as soon as possible to pursue hearts of the same interests as theirs. It used to be a different narrative in the past — lovers fight their way into love before eventually stitching up with their soul mates.

However, LordTanner doesn’t forget to teach that love does exist with chaos. And maybe chaotic events that are didactic — in this context. Tayo’s escapades are reminiscent of what a lot of old folks have done for love, especially in their college days. Tayo suffers his foolish decision in his quest for revenge even though he requests a light judgement on his offender, Magic.

Realistically, there is the crux of the plot in Tayo’s words as the movie ebbs towards resolution is worthy of note. It is usually a terrible thing when the same weight of love is not returned to a lover. Kemi rides on the friendship worth of Tayo and supposedly believes he is the first-choice male confidant when things go awry. For Tayo, the leeway to an enabling romantic relationship is friendship, but he seems it’s lingering on too much. It’s that unpleasant.

In addition, LordTanner does not forget to allude to the social vices replete in youths in their quest to attain love, influence, dominance and fame. One of such is drug abuse which serves as a motif to heighten the plot of the movie. Coupled with this is the place of cultism as the bane of misery, destruction, and death among young people.

Cinematographic Allure

A Young Time Ago might seem a fairly-budgeted movie but it revels in a brilliant cinematographic allure. The setting is an icing on the cake for the old effects which complement the flashbacks that tell the whole story. The lighting, camera angles and costumes are perfectly suited for the scenes.

Ratings

Kemi’s blindness to Tayo’s love drags too much and it leaves one wondering if she doesn’t love at all.

Also, how LordTanner attempts fantasy is disturbing. A man in suits who appears at the gate when Magic holds a party later turns out to be Uncle G who is winged as an angel at the end of the movie.

However, A Young Time Ago can stand the tests of memory and time in its space.

It takes a 6/10.