Review of Pascal Aka's Double Cross

DIRECTOR:          Pascal Aka

PRODUCERS:      Ama K. Abebrese

                              D. R. Kufuor

WRITER:              D. R. Kufuor

MUSIC:                Roger Ebo

                              Mensa Ansah

                              Obrafuor

CAMERA:            Pascal Aka

                              Prince Dovlo

EDITOR:               Pascal Aka

SOUND:               Bismark Aryee

                              Eugene Lee

                              Benjamin Koppoe

PRODUCTION COMPANY:            DBF Production

                                                            Breakthrough Media Production

CAST

Ama K. Abebrese

John Dumelo

Adjetey Anang

Paulina Oduro

Jasmine Baroudi

Samuel Odoi-Mensah

STORY

Effie Howard (Ama K. Abebrese) a streetwise programmer’s life is dramatically turned upside down when her fiancé Ben Boateng (Adjetey Anang) is convicted and sentenced for a bank robbery he did not commit. Determined to prove his innocence; she carried out her own investigation and finds the actual robber; Danny Frimpong (John Dumelo) a calm and collected sophisticated genius of a thief who has a personal vendetta against the bank he robbed Neptune Bank International. He robbed the bank using urbane technology which enabled him to enter, steal and exit the bank leaving everyone mystified as to how the theft was carried out, no witnesses, no evidence, yet the money is gone.

She meets Danny and threatens him but later offers him a deal; and it’s to rob the bank again with similar methods as the first so the authorities know the actual robber is still out there, then Danny will not lose what matters to him most and the reason for the bank robbery. She plans to relocate with the stolen money and start a new life with Ben when he is acquitted so as to get away from the stigma attached to ex-convicts and their families. They are successful in the robbing the bank, Effie now sets her sights on a jewellery warehouse and she wants Danny to rob it.

With a lot of jewellery and money at stake, each one of them tries to outwit each other with medleys of smart thinking as they plan and execute the robberies. They meticulously plan the robberies, but no amount of careful planning or expertise can prepare them for the dangerous enemy, an enemy Effie least expected and never saw coming; an unexpected turn of events on the day of the robbery, what happened? (www.double-crossmovie.com)

Finally, the long awaited art piece of Pascal Aka has been premiered in Ghana. At the mention of Pascal Aka what comes in mind is the name of the famous commercial director & music video turned film director, Michael Bay. Like Michael Bay, he has decided to transition into feature lengths. But the question still remains, ‘Would his transition be a success?’ Can’t tell if it was because of the director or the cast but the turnout at the Accra Mall Silverbird Cinema was very impressive. Not only was the hall full to its maximum capacity but also in attendance were some influential filmmakers and actors: Pascal Amanfo, Ken Attoh, Richard Asante (Kalybos), Niki Samonas, Nabil Meizongo (Producer of ‘Family Album’) and many others.

Ghanaian filmmakers are gradually mastering the drama genre in movies, and this one was no exception. Sustaining humor with the dialogues were expected looking at Pascal Aka’s short films he has directed in the past year. The storyline was interesting but the screenplay did not allow it to flow as it should. It was filled with lots of suspense, very intriguing and fun to watch.

The roles delegated to the cast were interchanged. I am saying this because of John Dumelo’s role. Even though some actors in Ghana have been type cast for many years and would like to try other roles, I believe they should train themselves well enough for it than make a mockery of their craft. Watching Danny Frimpong (John Dumelo) as he robbed the bank was the most amusing part of the film. It was like watching the comic version of Mission Impossible.

If it was really meant to be humorous, then it came out well. If not, then I’m sorry; Pascal Aka must come again. Just imagine a bank robber having the courage to drive his car into the bank premises, put the two security guards at the reserve to sleep (which bank reserve has only two security guards?) and rob the bank safe. Like seriously? Try robbing the Bank of Ghana reserve with such a “silly” tactic and give me your feedback. You will surely be writing me from the Nsawam Prison. He gets 3 out of 10 for his performance.

Ama K. Abebrese role was another questionable character. Even though she played her role well at some point of the film, the exaggerations were overdone. I preferred her soliloquizing rather than when she delivers a dialogue. Her facial expressions were just beautiful and heart-warming to watch. All in all, 6 out of 10 will best describe her acting.

(Must all actors turned producers play the lead in their movies just to further their career? #justsaying)

Adjetey Anang! My goodness, I would have carried him all night if I had met him after the premiere. Like a colleague of mine said, ‘You do not need a lead role to prove your worth as an actor or an actress’. And that was what Adjetey Anang did with his minor role as Ben Boateng. Even though he was on the screen for some few minutes, he grabbed the attention of the audience with his performance.  I will continue to say this even if I build haters along the line, ‘If there is any actor at all in Ghana who is sure to win an Oscar one day for his/her acting skill, it will surely be Adjetey Anang’. (Take it or leave it). 10 out of 10 will describe his performance.

For Pascal Aka’s performance on this flick, I would say that he did his best but could have done better if he had concentrated more on the directing and had left the editing and cinematography to another. Being the director, editor and cinematographer, you would ignore lots of things thinking the magic can be done at bench; and the end result was what we saw for 88minutes. Having seen most of his short films and music videos, he just didn’t bring his A Game. That was why I was humbled and happy when he gave himself a 6/10 even though I expected to hear something a bit lower than that.

The editing was poorly done. No matter the number of shots a director may think he has provided to the editor to use, it is at the discretion of the editor to use the best shots to give the film its meaning. Pascal must have used every shot he had because he was too attached to his shots. In as much as you have the right to cut or use different shots for artistic purposes, it should still make meaning. You can’t be tracking when you want the audience to be concentrating on the dialogue than on the environment. You track to reveal something and yet we keep seeing the same old thing. It is beautiful to track but, is it relevant to that particular scene? If you want more clarifications, watch Steve McQueen’s ‘HUNGER’.

The dissolves were over used. Dissolves are used to show time elapse – you don’t dissolve when you have no new information.

Let me state the obvious since it was noticed by all in attendance. The camera men - Pascal and Prince, ignored the focusing ring. I doubt there was a monitor on location for the director. (Oh! I forgot that the director was handling camera) I still wonder why this film won the Best Cinematography award at the just ended Ghana Movie Awards. Too many shaky shots or let me say handheld shots.

I really enjoyed the music. I hope to acquire a copy in stores soon. The lyrics just fit the story. The sound effects added a lot to the telling of the story.

In watching the film you see its low production value and complete oversight for most of the relevant detail. You don’t expect us to continue supporting local movies when the foreign ones, which give maximum attention to details, are on display for the same price. You would think that an industry that has sleeper fans like ours would do more to change that but it just seems to further worsen a fan’s taste and stereotype for the industry.  I tried my best to overlook the Prison even though I knew very well that it looked like someone’s dining hall. As much as we wish to sell a good image of Ghana, we should not ignore the intelligence of the audience. How can that be a prison! Is that the new prison for people who rob banks? I did my best overlooking the prison but I just couldn’t stand the Bank reserve and the jewelry shop. It was too much to take. Invest more. Build sets when you have to.

I should just take in a deep breath and rest my case. After considering the above points, the Ghana Cinema Review committee has decided to rate ‘Double Cross’ at 40.5% (thanks to the story).

 As Pascal Aka said, “Amanfo produces sugar, I produce pepper”. For those who left the Silverbird Cinemas crying, you must have had too much pepper for the night.