Lara and the Beat sounds like Beauty and the Beast, or is just me? Is it because the film stars artistes Seyi Shay and Vector? I have a right to be confused. And you will be too when you watch the teaser of this “coming-of-age” film from Biola Alabi Media and realise that all the characters are mute. Well, not mute like dumb dumb dumb, but rather choked with blippy, background music to wash out dialogue.
Diplomatically put, I’m not sure if I like the effect. Lara and the Beat follows the story of the young and beautiful Giwa sisters caught in the centre of a financial scandal that involves their late parents’ media empire. The sisters, who are being forced out of their privileged circle, must learn to build their own future and salvage their family’s past. Pardon me, but I don’t know why I still think of the film as a musical. In the teaser, Seyi Shay (Lara Giwa) is wearing nice, lovely things, so the fashion seems to be good. And there’s a scene were she and Vector’s character are standing and arguing in clumsy, artificially-manufactured rain. What’s that about?
First off, neither Seyi or Vector are seasoned actors (this is Vector’s second time in front of the screen, his first was in June, released a few days ago), and Seyi’s first. Should two newbies be helming a big budget flick, Ms. Alabi seems to believe so.
Biola Alabi Media helmed the 2017 comedy drama Banana Island Ghost, so you can expect Lara and The Beat to be washed over with comedic beats but as for the whole thing, I don’t know, I’m not convinced it could work. You can watch the teaser below. Lara and the Beat opens in cinemas June 8, and also stars Lala Akindoju, Wale Ojo, Akah Nnani, Uche Jombo, DJ Xclusive, Chioma Akpotha, Chinedu Ikedieze and more.
When Bernard Dayo isn’t writing about pop culture, he’s watching horror movies and reading comics and trying to pretend his addiction to Netflix isn’t a serious condition.
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