Let’s take a cue from the synopsis of the film:

“Crossroads depicts university life in 1900s Nigeria, focusing on Eriola, Oyekan, and Fela. Eriola faces family pressure, Oyekan’s gang adds tension, and Eriola confronts false accusations with friends’ support. Threats from Don Smart loom as Fela attempts to shield Eriola, leading to emotional confrontations”

In a twisted turn of events, it’s quite apparent that this film takes another turn.

The film “Crossroads” follows a typical damsel in distress narrative, focusing not only on a rescue romance but also on character and plot inconsistencies. These narrative flaws metaphorically and conveniently render the damsel helpless in every single way, even in situations where she should be empowered to make life-changing decisions which oh-so-conveniently, serves the plot.

Story

Eriola helps Oyekan, a cultist, whom she initially showed total detest for, after he gets into trouble with the police. Their actions lead to dire consequences: Eriola is expelled from university and arrested, while her relationship with her strict father totally crumbles. She’s left to pick up the pieces of her already disreputable life. But, she can’t do it alone.

Oyekan steps in, taking responsibility for both of them and they soon fall in love. Their newfound relationship is tested when Eriola’s fiancé, Adefela comes in creating a tangled love triangle. Just when their drama reaches its peak, Eriola mysteriously disappears.

Plot

Set in the 1990s, the plot is simply convenient and inconsistent, featuring long action sequences, questionable character arcs, and countable plot holes. Because of this, the film struggles to communicate its message. Only one message is clear; a lesson that Eriola’s father learns.

Technical Aspects

Except for the occasional attempt to communicate the 1990s setting, the time period doesn’t seem serve the narrative any real purpose. With the costume and makeup effort quite commendable, the distinction between actors and extras are made clear through different costume choices. This only highlights a slight technical inaccuracy, as it raises questions about the necessity of the chosen era. It’s only when a character explicitly mentions the year that we even know the time period.

The film relied heavily on dialogue with mostly no corresponding action to complement its storytelling. Paired with less believable actions, and questionable character portrayals, with constant continuity errors, all this further detracts from the film’s coherence and impact.

Performance

While a handful of actors like Sam Dede, Yvonne Jegede, Mo Bimpe Adedimeji, Wunmi Toriola and Adebayo Salami deliver good performances, others falter, likely due to poor writing and probably, wrong directional choices. We see this particularly in Aisha Lawal’s Eriola character.

With Eriola’s character, various plot holes and questions come in: why did Eriola suddenly decide to support Oyekan? What made her to change her mind? Why did she switch from apprehensiveness to confusion after helping Oyekan? Is there something that we, the audience missed? These unevenness, along with others, contribute to a mix of inconsistencies, further undermining the film’s coherence and believability.

Some performances come across as questionable, like Femi Adebayo and Bukunmi ‘Kie Kie’ Adeaga-Ilori’s comedic characters. Not bad to grant the audience a slight sigh of comedic relief; which audiences usually crave for. But for rigidly sticking to their comedic characters throughout the film, there is simply no sense of genuine connection and importance the audience attaches to them. And ironically, they simply, and eventually fade out of the story leaving no trace.

Final Thoughts

The film becomes a muddled narrative, trying to incorporate too many elements at once from action to romance, and then violence. The storyline then shifts unpredictably, leaving viewers unsure of what the story is trying to achieve.

This confusion extends beyond the plot, reflecting a deeper indecision within the production itself. It wasn’t just a crossroads for the protagonist and characters.

Verdict

There are so many things that make this film not come out as expected. Crossroads fails due to its inconsistent plot and storyline, and poorly developed character arcs. The 1990s setting feels irrelevant and forced, adding no real value to the story. Uneven performances, hindered by poor writing and direction, further detract from the film’s coherence and believability.

Overall, the film tries to incorporate both action, comedy, romance, and crime, albeit without a clear focus, resulting in a disjointed and confusing experience. The film is currently available on Prime Video, We’d like to know your thoughts.

Rating: 1.5/5