Amir is The Delivery Boy.

Amir is a terrorist on a mission. After existing as a pawn for most of his young life, he has embarked on his most meaningful journey yet. One that is worth living – or dying for. It doesn’t matter, as long as his objective is achieved.

Amir has been trained to follow orders but this time he is moving only to the rhythm of his own convictions. This deviation from a life of structured routine can only lead to destruction but for an indoctrinated fellow whose life is steeped in violence prodded along by religious extremism, what are a few more bodies left in his wake?

The Delivery Boy is also the story of Nkem.

Nkem is a prostitute on a mission. She exists solely to provide for an incapacitated relative. She blames herself for this person’s condition and perhaps she is right to. One eventful night, in a city that goes unnamed although anyone can tell it is Lagos, Amir and Nkem cross paths. It is no cliché to report that their lives aren’t quite the same again.

The Delivery Boy which won the Oronto Douglas prize for Best Nigerian Film at the just concluded Globe Awards of the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) is the directorial debut of Adekunle ‘Nodash’ Adejuyigbe. Already somewhat of a veteran, Adejuyigbe is best known for his work as a cinematographer, lighting up scenes for top-tier directors like Kunle Afolayan, Jadesola Osiberu and Tope Oshin. With The Delivery Boy which Adejuyigbe wrote, shot and directed all by himself, he uncovers new layers of talent hitherto unseen by the film going public.

The screenplay for The Delivery Boy may be sparse and the running time compact – 66 minutes – but Adejuyigbe loads his film with layers of material and subtext that could easily take up three hours. The themes are as dark as the gritty tones which he chooses to bathe his film in but the end result is a thing of beauty. Some of the hard-hitting stuff which Adejuyigbe’s screenplay grapples with include religious extremity, sexual and domestic abuse and violence. Did we mention violence?

Violence has never played out so beautifully in a Nollywood film and The Delivery Boy certainly deserves to be seen to be appreciated. What would have turned out clumsy or gratuitous in less skilled hands is elevated to visual poetry in The Delivery Boy. When Amir kills, you are mortified by it, but by God, you want to see him do more.

Adejuyigbe is a thinking man and because of this, The Delivery Boy is more than just a genre, pulpy thriller. The film speaks to the Nigerian condition, the human one and isn’t content with delivering the thrills even when it could get by just fine with doing only that. Through Amir and Nkem’s long night’s journey, Adejuyigbe seeks out the grey areas of life, evident in the choices that his characters make. The characters judge one another, confident in their righteousness and are ready to lash out at a moment’s notice. But no one is without blame and the screenplay delights in dancing in these grey areas.

Amir, all righteous indignation and controlled fury, is embodied brilliantly by Jamal Ibrahim (Green White Green) in what should in a just world, emerge as a star-making turn. Ibrahim nails both the physical demands and the emotional arc of his character and a heart-breaking scene where he explains his motivations, exuding strength and vulnerability at the same time, recalls Mo’Nnique’s giant Oscar-winning Precious moment.

Ibrahim’s achievement is made all the more potent considering he shares most of his screen time with a wildly miscast Jemima Osunde as the equally traumatised prostitute, Nkem. Osunde gives it a try but she never quite fits in or settles into the role and is easily The Delivery Boy’s weak spot showing up Adejuyigbe as less than perfect after all. A scene where an intravenous line is inserted in the wrong direction of a character’s hand almost slides by without notice.

Thought provoking, brooding yet piercingly engaging, it would be a crime to miss out on the goodness of The Delivery Boy. Adejuyigbe is a major talent (obviously) and his film could be a future classic. The more reason everyone should see it.

Wilfred Okiche

Wilfred Okiche is a medic, reader, writer, journalist, culture critic, and occasional ruffler of feathers. One of the most influential critics working in the Nigerian culture space, his writing has appeared extensively in platforms like YNaija.com and 360nobs.com. Okiche has provided editorial assistance to the UK Guardian and has had his work published in African Arguments, Africa is a Country and South Africa’s City Press. He has received trainings and acquired experience in multimedia and online journalism. He also appears on the culture television show, Africana Literati. He has participated at critic programs in Lagos, Durban and Rotterdam.