When Lancelot Imasuen’s Emotional Crack came out in 2003, it was a HUGE movie not only in terms of commercial success but also in terms of subject matter.
Prior to Emotional Crack, there had been no bisexual characters on Nigerian television and a young Dakore at that time was in 2002 given the task to play the first ever at the very beginnings of her acting career. Emotional Crack was only her fourth movie and now in an interview with Chude, Dakore is talking about the movie’s legacy, what it was like playing that role, what her mother said when she told her about the role, and what she thinks of the movie today. Are you ready to see what Dakore said? Then let’s go!
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Speaking about the movie and the role, interviewer Chude said:
“Emotional Crack was a textured, layered, nuanced film in a time when Nollywood wasn’t know for making textured, layered, nuanced films.”
To which Dakore responded:
And I think it’s safe to say now because I never really wanted to talk about it, but I think I had a lot to do with that because the director and no disrespect to him because he is amazing – Lancelot Imasuen is a god! – but I said, ‘papa, not this one. If we do it this way, e go spoil am.’ He was a bit irritated because he was like who is this little runt because that was like my fourth film and I was still new, I wasn’t yet a star, yet here I was giving advice.
He said ‘You people should kiss!’ and I was like, ‘Ah! Na Naija we dey oh. It was bad enough that we were going there. I played the first bisexual character on television, on film. So I knew what I was carrying. Before I even accepted the role, I spoke to my mother. She said ‘Do you really feel strongly about this role?’ I said yes, so she said ‘Okay, just make sure it’s tasteful.’
So I told him (the director), ‘Baba, it can be more suggestive. With the eyes.’ I love to play nuanced characters. Human beings have so many layers, let it come through. He was irritated throughout and I’m so happy we did it that way.
After he shot, he came to me and said, ‘Dakore thank you!’
And thank him too for accepting me because I was young, I was new, but I knew as a film watcher the society that we lived in, this role had to be handled very delicately. And every other film that came out after that, that tried to touch on that subject turned out to be very crass.
That movie is a classic, it still trends and it’s so cool. I just hate that at the end, they made her crazy which was not a very fair thing but for the time, that movie was really powerful.
I am very proud of that.
That movie is still an iconic movie and if you have never gotten the chance to watch Emotional Crack, well here it is. You’re welcome.
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