Caught in the Act

The proverbial ‘caught in the act’ suggests sexual impropriety. My libido flares at the connotation of the meaning. Imagine an enraged husband bursting into a flee-infested motel room, catching his wife and his driver making out. Choosing Caught in the Act wasn’t a choice based on the star-studded line up, but rather was based solely on the title. It is a thought provoking title that anybody might snatch off a store shelf. I admit, I’m a victim!  Wow, what’s in a name?

A night club acquaintance of young Mrs. Evelyn Duke approaches her as she sits picnicking with her mother-in-law, the elder Mrs. Duke. The acquaintance knows young Mrs. Duke as Jane, a girl he met one night on the town. Then the dam breaks in this tight high society business family. Shrewd old Mrs. Duke is convinced beyond doubt her daughter-in-law leads a double life. Clarion Chukwurah got quite in form in this open-ended thriller as a snobbish, hateful and discording character. We see young Mrs. Duke (Jane) as a  prostitute for one goon on the west side of town and working for another goon on the east side as a child abductor.

Director Christopher Orzoemenn puts together a stellar cast here: Clarion Chukwurah, a veteran actress who made her screen debut on Money Power in the early 80s; Koffi Adjorlolo, a veteran Ghanian actor; Nonso Diobi, a 27 years old up-and-coming actor who made name for himself in The Richest Man; and Genevieve Nnanji, a 24 years old Lagos-Nollywood-movie phenom.

Beside its disjointed scenes and non-convincing dialogue, Caught in the Act is a sound script. The young Mrs. Duke, known alternately as Jane and Evelyn, does assume character. I guess at age 24, 50 films will definitely give one the ability to judge a good and sound script. The most intresting part of this movie is Genevieve’s ability to alternate roles. At the Duke’s, she speaks like a refined upper class, high society lady. And when she goes out on the town, a bimbo in her own right, she speaks the pidgin English with a fluency of a Nigerian street hawker. Her delivery of both is flawless. However, the movie would actually be better if we got to actually see her get caught in the act!

Ali Baylay/Publisher.