‘The Delivery Boy’ Deserves A Longer Cinema Run And Here’s Why

White, black, different shades of grey. We learned these new colours watching the masterpiece put together by Adekunle ‘Nodash’ Adejuyigbe. ‘The Delivery Boy’ delivered individual packages to the fourteen people who sat in that screening room and it did so through a 70 minutes film.

“Huh, will it be worth it?” they asked immediately it was announced that we were going to see a Nigerian film. It is a familiar feeling, minutes before walking into a cinema hall to see a movie. You are eager to enjoy yourself and most importantly, pray that the movie does not disappoint you.

It is with this mind frame we sat, watching letters form the words ‘The Delivery Boy’ and the usual intro. We were still hoping to get our time’s worth till the first scene happened. Powerful, necessary, precise and with the right sequence. Backs sank into the chairs and hands clutched popcorns. We had been invited to join an exhilarating ride.

The questions jumped out of the screen without warning and you find yourself listening, watching, and reading to catch the answers. Every second counts and you don’t even care if these are familiar box office faces or not. You have met these characters and you are intrigued by their actions. You want to know why because somehow, you see you in them.

By the third scene, the room was quiet and everyone watched with rapt attention. Say no more, we were won over.

However, it took more than an interesting story to get us relaxed. Great stories abound and while a plot is the meat in a soup, it will be bland without spices. The cinematography, sound track, costume and acting were the kind of spices we didn’t know we needed till the ladle touched our tongue.

‘The Delivery Boy’ was well-lit. For a film that had over 90 percent night scenes, the director used the lights to the story’s advantage pulling a natural feel with the artificial equipment. They enabled us see the scenes but understand that it was really night-time.

The cinematography in this film is better experienced than explained. It was clear that all the scenes were well-thought out and shots designed. Nothing overlapped the other and as hard as it sounds, there was no weak scene. Every scene transitioned well into the next, even the throwbacks. It was a breath of fresh air from the usual ways memories are captured in most Nigerian films.

Soundtrack for this movie was something else. They motivated the claps we gave the movie at several points. The sounds fit the sequence, actions and the present motivation of the character in a way that seemed too perfect. It got your heart pumping, your mind wondering and your soul hoping for an onscreen character to pass a hurdle.

Every actor was a hit back to back. It is interesting to note that there are no many actors in this film because the story didn’t require a crowd. Every actor had a distinct role that was key to the plot and they all pulled it off effortlessly. Jemima Osunde and Jammal Ibrahim were amaze-balls and it isn’t enough compliment.

‘The Delivery Boy’ shows us who we are, in the rawest form that we behave or think and the misconceptions behind our motivations. It lets you know that you don’t know the full story and you only see what you want. More importantly, it spotlights the Suicide Bombing crisis and gives us a case out of the millions that require us to take a second look.

We loved that the film was concise and straight to the point but a few more scenes would have fleshed some areas up. Also, it would have been nice to see Nkem’s prayer and Amir’s monologue in the film. These were clips that we wanted to see fit into the plot and not just for promotion. Above all, Nodash and his team created a masterpiece that deserves all the accolades it can get.

‘The Delivery Boy’ deserves a longer cinema run and of course, all your cinema coins.