“Something Like Gold” is an upcoming 2024 Nollywood romantic drama from the stables of one of the best filmmakers in Africa, Tope Oshin. It’s a film with a deep sense of emotional appreciation and relatability. It is about Oluchi, a wealthy lady, whose heart was in shreds, so she locked it up and threw the love away. Staying back in Lagos to be close to her job and some other earthly materials, she built walls around her heart. When she unexpectedly runs into Tunde, an irresistible, penniless, struggling artist, her tightly controlled world begins to come undone.
In the process, their lives intertwine, forcing Oluchi to face her fears and the emotional wounds of her past. It’s a movie about love, healing, and how the simplest act of vulnerability sometimes affects people. “Something Like Gold” depicts the raw love story, the pitfalls and peaks of a relationship, and the courage it takes to open up to somebody new.
It stars Bimbo Ademoye as Oluchi and Daniel Etim Effiong as Tunde, who both give performances that make one get even deeper into what these characters go through. So warm and believable are the leads in their chemistry that the audience is drawn in, feeling the need for self-discovery and love the way they traverse.
“Something Like Gold” has been hailed for its hyper-real story and the very powerful performances not only for the lead actors but for the backups as well. More so, direction under Tope Oshin’s hands is a hyper-real sensitivity and depth, magical in movies that wish to connect at a gut, visceral level. Love is something that cuts both ways—be it pain or healing—and this fact is brought home poignantly by this movie.
One of the strong points of the film is its character development. Oluchi’s transformation from this rather closed, successful woman into someone daring enough to take a chance at love can only be simply termed beautiful. Bimbo Ademoye’s performance in this character has been rated right at the very top. The way she infused the right mix of strength and vulnerability with her character, Oluchi, has actually made Oluchi a character with which an audience member can relate. In the movie, there is another revelation: Daniel Etim Effiong as Tunde, bringing out the charisma and honesty of a man who restores joy and trust into Oluchi’s life.
Other aspects that have made the motion picture attractive belong to its cinematography and soundtrack. The vibrant scenes of Lagos are brilliantly captured, providing a rich backdrop to the unfolding love story. Besides, the music, with a mix of contemporary Nigerian tunes, underlines the emotional weight of some features in the film.
However, there are some critics who argued to the effect that it holds a certain type of plot line that was quite to be expected with such a romantic drama. The storyline is engaging, yet it doesn’t much break a sweat to go way off from the conventions of the genre, and this is less impactful for those viewers who love to see originality. The pacing issues in the middle act slightly take away from the film’s momentum.
What few accusations regarding the movie come out of these minor drawbacks, “Something Like Gold” is a very moving film which could appeal to anyone, having been able to experience life’s up and down ride of love. It stands apart from such movies with its emotional depth, powerful performances, and beautifully portrays the ability to love after heartbreak.
Rating:
All in all, it’s an easy 8/10 for “Something Like Gold.” It would only chart in the territories of cliché, but made well, the film is a must-watch for any fan who loves romantic dramas. Touching and relatable, this portrayal of love, loss, and healing seals its spot as one of the standouts for Nollywood so far in 2024.
