Lionheart
Director: Genevieve Nnaji
Writer: Ishaya Bako, Emil Garuba, Genevieve Nnaji, C.J. ‘Fiery’ Obasi, Chinny Onwugbenu
Cast: Genevieve Nnaji, Nkem Owoh, Pete Edochie, Onyeka Onwenu, Kanayo O. Kanayo, Ngozi Ezeonu, Kalu Ikeagwu
Seen on: 8.6.2019
Plot:
When Adaeze’s (Genevieve Nnaji) father Ernest (Pete Edochie) has some health problems, he has to hand over the reins of his transportation business. Adaeze hopes he will hand them to her, but instead, he asks his brother Godswill (Nkem Owoh) to step in. When Adaeze and Godswill realize that the company is in financial trouble, they try to land a government contract. This means besting their competitor Igwe (Kanayo O. Kanayo) – which is easier said than done, especially for Adaeze who, as a woman, has to prove herself capable every step of the way.
Lionheart is an okay film. It is pretty entertaining, but its feminist attempts fall woefully short. I was hoping for more.
On the surface, Lionheart is a film that centers a woman trying to make it in a man’s world, trying to show that she is a capable business woman. And I’m definitely all for that. But the film undermines its own message by having the men’s decisions be more important at the end of the story.
Also, one way that Adaeze proves that she can run a business is by breaking up a budding strike, and I mean, yeah, that’s probably what a successful business woman would do, but that isn’t really a reason to celebrate, is it? From an intersectional perspective, it’s catastrophic and liberal feminism at its finest.
That being said, the film is entertaining enough and definitely never boring. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it at all. And the film at least tries to have a feminist message, so that’s something. It just isn’t really enough – I was definitely hoping for more.
Summarizing: could have been more to it.
