A Little Lie A Little Kill

The term 'film Noir' and its defining parameters is still an active global debate in film theoretical circles, nevertheless, director Tebo Njei aligning with the dark picture composition, crime and victim of circumstance aura identifiable in the film noir concept, unabashedly announces this attempt as the first Anglophone Cameroon film noir.  A Little Lie A Little Kill set in Buea (South West Region of Cameroon) engages its audience in a tale of love, friendship, betrayal and crime. Now while I don't know if indeed it's the first film noir but I sure do know this Cameroonian film captivated my attention. The technique and intricacies in narration espoused by the director is laudable, even though the acting prowess was quite lacking in some characters and doused the excitement somewhat; the dialogues are fair same as the location, sets and props. The cinematography indicates a thought process and an attempt at carving a personal directorial style which was sometimes challenged by the sound capturing and mixing (some of the background score was unnecessary). The story is indeed intriguing and captivating and the screenplay well penned but the conclusion I found depressing and I think could have been addressed differently for some realism. Nevertheless, its a well scripted film.  All in all I didn't feel the urge at any point to eject the CD from my DVD player in anger and break it as has been the case with countless other Anglophone Video films. Rather, I was impressed, it's an Ivan Nname production and I recommend it to all those avid to support Anglophone Cameroon film production.

Synopsis

Gerald accidentally meets Charlotte and falls for her even though they both have people in their lives. Gerald's fiancée Helen (who by the way is a thrill to watch) will stop at nothing to keep him under control, while Charlotte's crazy boyfriend (whom I found funny at some instances) is ready to rain down hail stones to keep her. Amidst all this how do these two Gerald and Charlotte manage to be together is what the plot unravels in this 110mins runtime captivating drama. Now while I cant let the cat outta the bag, I can guarantee you all that the final twist makes it worth the watch.

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