MOVIE REVIEW: “In Love With A Prostitute” Produced by Ogongo TV
Reviewed by Ajibare Abioye
Hey folks! You’re welcome to the review of my third Valentine’s Day YouTube Christian movie release, In Love with a Prostitute. Interesting title, isn’t it? Interesting story too, especially because of the personality of the protagonist, Jide Williams, played by Ayo ‘Cineman’ Olaleye. The movie was written by Emmanuel Olorunjubeelo, directed by Adeoye Omoniyi and produced by Taiwo Ayoola.
As the self-explanatory title denotes, Jide falls in love with a prostitute and it is a pleasing thing when we see how that love, so to say purifies Sharon, played by Abiola Ojelabi. However, the whole process involved should not be overlooked, in order to avoid misunderstanding the message of the movie. I would say that this film uses Jide’s life to show the kind of mistakes one could make in marital choice, rather than using Jide’s actions as a model for Christians to follow.
On the surface, the situation looks like the prostitute was God’s will for Jide, which could really be misleading and easily misunderstood, especially with the biblical instance of Hosea and Gomer. So, maybe the million-dollar question is: Would God lead his child to a prostitute? Let’s examine it.
Proverbs 31:12 enlightens us that a virtuous woman does her husband good and not evil, but at the beginning of this movie, what we see is that Sharon “makes” Jide tell a lie to cover up something he didn’t even have an idea of. For majority of In Love with a Prostitute, Jide shows himself as a novice in many ways. His actions thereafter are as erratic as the occasional choppy movements from scene to scene, which made certain scenes feel incomplete and inconclusive. Jide actually shows Sharon care and compassion but his motives are questionable.
Next thing we know, he’s declared to his parents that he’s in love with her. Now, let’s look at this: he feels there’s something wrong with it – he tags it a strange love, he calls it madness, and asks God for healing; yet, he goes ahead to propose marriage to her and it was only then he thought to tell his pastor! That’s preposterous. Unfortunately, it’s like the pastor doesn’t even do anything about it.
From these, we can deduce that Jide has been entirely emotional about his marital choice; he hasn’t deferred to God, spiritual authority or parental guidance concerning it. He clearly doesn’t have peace in the union; so, it’s a wonder why he goes ahead. I deem it vital to state that the movie is not trying to say that Jide has done the right thing. In any case, God does later on redeem the situation and makes something beautiful of Sharon’s life.
A better way for Jide to have gone about it would be to seek God and not be carnally minded. He might have “fallen in love” with Sharon but as a child of God, he should have sought to first of all, reconcile her with God by showing her the love of Christ. In the movie, his care for her eventually touches her and she begins to turn over a new leaf; for her, whether he married her or not, she wouldn’t return to prostitution – that should have brought Jide back to his senses. Her decision offered him the opportunity to come into the actual part God might have intended him to play in her life – the role of a mentor. And who knows? In time, God might give the green light for that relationship to become something more. But with the way Jide did things, it just looked like a marriage out of pity.
The music of In Love with a Prostitute merits a mention because its theme song was quite good. I would say though, that such should not be used too often as for example, a medium of transition from scene to scene. Instrumentals and background tunes that align with the mood of individual scenes could be used instead. The movie also introduces a nice element that tallies with its theme: a love song.
Another commendable aspect of In Love with a Prostitute is the revelation scene, one whose instruction – Wash the cup – Jide misinterprets to mean “Marry her” instead of “Preach the gospel to her; get her saved with the kindness you received from God”. Talk of her salvation should have come before any discussion of marriage. Also remarkable was the acting of the ladies in the brothel.
My own takeaway from In Love with a Prostitute is the actions of the so-called believers in the movie. Jide’s neighbour was so quick to tag his neighbours ‘prostitutes’ when the real question is whether he had tried to shine the light of the gospel of Christ on them. Of course, there is need for caution but are we really reaching out to people like that who need help, or we’re just content to judge and condemn them? Likewise, was Mrs Williams seriously trying to pay Sharon off? That wasn’t Christ-like at all. I pray that the Lord will help us all to be true ambassadors of Jesus Christ.
Alright, we’ve come to the end of this review? Have you seen the movie? What did you think about it? Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. You could watch the movie below:
