Behind The Scenes is the latest cinematic offering from award-winning filmmaker Funke Akindele. Released on December 12th, this Nollywood film takes us deep into the emotional realities and struggles that often hide behind public success and fame. As a matter of fact, December in Nigeria has become synonymous with heavy-hitting blockbusters, a time when filmmakers vie for our attention and our wallets. Yet, amidst the noise of holiday releases, this particular film stands out because it dares to look past the glitter.
The film’s core concept is to expose the hidden challenges, sacrifices, and emotional toll experienced on the challenges of a breadwinner to leeches. Directed by Funke Akindele and Tunde Olaoye, the movie serves us insightful themes on, greed, envy, betrayal and surprisingly, true love. It does not just entertain; it mirrors the society we live in, reflecting the silent battles fought in mansions in Lekki.
The film features a talented ensemble cast that delivered powerful performances that ground the emotional narrative. With the caliber of the actors involved like Tobi Bakre, Iyabo Ojo, Uche Montana, Scarlet Gomez, Uzor Arukwe, Destiny Etiko, and Mr. Macaroni, your expectation is exactly what they bring on screen. They bring depth and authenticity to the film’s heavy, emotional themes. When you see a lineup like this, you expect magic, and for the most part, they delivered exactly that.
Premise
Behind The Scenes tells a familiar story of a breadwinner, Ronke Fernandez. She is a real estate mogul, a mom, and most importantly, the backbone of her family, specifically her elder sister Adetutu and her younger brother Adewale. Ronke represents a figure we all know. She is the “Rich Aunty” everyone relies on. However, underneath the designer clothes and the power moves, she suffocates. For her entire life, Ronke has sacrificed her needs to cater to the wants of her family and friends. Watching this painful dynamic hurts because it feels so real.
The first scene opens with the police arresting Adetutu and Alero for naira mutilation. Just as expected, Ronke sweeps in with her friend Victor, a lawyer, to bail them out. This scene immediately sets the tone. It exposes the family’s recklessness and highlights their belief that Ronke will always clean up their mess. To make things worse, Ronke finds out that the money her sister squandered and got arrested for was the money she sent for her nieces’ tuition.
That revelation alone should break anyone’s spirit. But not Adetutu. Adetutu immediately covers up her lapses, claiming she will find a way to balance the books. She says it with zero remorse. In fact, she acts as if she does Ronke a favor simply by existing. Adetutu isn’t the sole leech. Adewale’s wife also grooms her children in the subtle art of extortion, a tactic they use to extract more money from Ronke. Seeing parents use their children as tools for manipulation breaks my heart.
Amidst this chaos, only Victor cares for Ronke. He constantly advises her to prioritise her needs and let her family fend for themselves. Victor serves as the voice of reason; he sees the damage, and he tries to pull her out of the fire. But Ronke, blinded by duty, refuses to listen.
Just when you think peace has returned, Ronke enters a land dispute with community thugs. They demand a ridiculously large sum before her workers can commence work. This escalation adds a layer of physical danger to her emotional stress. Ronke disagrees, and hell breaks loose. The situation spirals out of control rapidly.
Days later, she visits her site and finds a pile of decaying bodies. The community thugs now threaten to go public if she refuses to pay two hundred and twenty million naira. The sight of the bodies sends Ronke into a desperate panic mode, forcing her into a corner that amplifies her health problem.
Her friend Miriam, a PR Expert, advises her to pay the money to avoid a scandal. Miriam represents the societal pressure to maintain appearances at all costs. This particular conflict remains unresolved as Ronke falls ill. Doctors diagnose her with Lupus, forcing her into intense medical treatment. The shift from a crime thriller to a medical drama feels sudden, yet necessary. It compels the audience to pause.
In her sick state, she discovers that Adetutu has been secretly building a duplex in Victoria Island. Adetutu hid this project until her daughters went public on social media, showing off their mother’s newly acquired mansion. This secrecy really did hurt her. While Ronke fights for her life, her sister builds a castle with stolen funds. Adetutu, employing her usual gaslighting tactics, apologizes and claims she intended to surprise Ronke with the house. The excuse sounds flimsy; it reveals the depth of Adetutu’s delusion.
In the midst of the chaos, one morning, Oluchi (Ronke’s maid) receives the shock of her life. As she goes to perform a routine check-up on her madam, she finds Ronke lying on the bed, unresponsive. She immediately rushes her to the hospital, but doctors confirm her dead on arrival.
This is where the movie starts; here, we learn the real lessons. Will Ronke’s benevolent lifestyle secure kindness from her relatives for the children she left behind, or will the family mistreat them? The question hangs in the air. It forces us to reflect on our own lives. I cannot tell you further than this; Behind The Scenes has an interesting plot you need to unravel yourself.
Cast and Performances
Tobi Bakre
A good movie gives room for a character to grow, and Behind The Scenes made sure that happened. Tobi played Adewale, the dropout and irresponsible younger brother who has a family of his own but is very idle about taking care of them. Most times, his wife resorts to extorting his very wealthy sister so she can satisfy her desires. Tobi is often cast as the tough guy or the cool lover boy. Seeing him play a spineless man was refreshing.
Initially, you want to punch him through the screen because he embodies that useless uncle every family seems to have. But as the atmosphere in the movie shifted, you’ll notice Tobi’s growth and change, his entire reality shifted, and the then irresponsible younger brother is now the only relative who looks out for the family the most. His transition from a leech to a leader is subtle, and it feels earned. By the end, he is the only redeemable male figure in the family, and Tobi handles that arc with grace.
Scarlet Gomez as Ronke
Scarlet played the role of a typical Nigerian breadwinner, but this time with a twist. She played Ronke, the sister who never stopped giving; her value tied directly to how much she sacrificed for everyone else, while completely neglecting herself. Scarlet carries the weight of the entire film. Her eyes tell a story of exhaustion that words cannot capture. She portrays the “Black Tax” victim perfectly. You can see the heaviness in her steps. You can feel the migraine she must have every day. Any Nigerian who shoulders the responsibility of their family will certainly find Scarlet’s role a relatable one. She wasn’t just a rich woman; she was a tired woman. Her performance forces you to empathize with her, even when she makes poor decisions.
Destiny Etiko as Oluchi
Destiny’s performance perfectly fits the tag of “that one movie where actors weren’t really acting.” Her performance was crude, like it came from the heart. Nollywood often typecasts Destiny in loud, glamorous roles. Here, she stripped all that away, wearing no makeup, just the uniform of a maid. Yet, she commanded the screen.
Although she played a supporting role as an uneducated house help and nanny to her wealthy madam, Destiny still shone brightly in the role. Her loyalty to Ronke was the only pure thing in the movie. It was touching to see. Or perhaps I’m talking from the Nigerian point of view because we know how rare it is to find strangers who would genuinely love you. In a world full of snakes, she was the dove. So seeing Destiny play that role sparked hope in me that maybe humanity isn’t dead after all, and there are people in this life who deserve kindness.
Funke Akindele as Adetutu
Funke played the supporting role in this movie, she played the role of an elder sister who was unwilling to accept her duties to her family. It is brave for a director to cast herself as the villain. Funke did not try to make Adetutu likable. She made her detestable. She was that sister that kept taking, even at the expense of her younger sister’s wellbeing. The way she talked, chewed her gum, the way she rolled her eyes, the entitlement in her voice, it was all perfect.
She played the role of a typical Nigerian family member who sees having a wealthy sibling as an automatic entitlement to their wealth. It’s quite common here, can’t speak for everyone but it’s something you’ll see mainly in Nigerian families, and Funke Akindele made sure she played her part religiously. You will leave the cinema hating her character, which is proof of her acting prowess.
What I Liked
The decision to tackle the realities and emotional struggles behind success and fame is highly relevant and provides a compelling, reflective narrative for the audience. Too often, Nollywood focuses on the glamour without showing the grit. We see the parties, but we don’t see the pain. Behind The Scenes brought to reality that the helper also needs help, it may not be financially perhaps emotionally. This is a message that needs to be preached on every rooftop. We often neglect the strong friends. We assume they are fine because they are paying the bills. Seeing Ms. Fernandez’s struggle with Lupus alone was the loudest warning anyone who isn’t thinking of prioritizing their needs would get. It serves as a grim reminder that health is wealth, and stress is a silent killer.
In addition to the themes, the casting was stellar, it had a lineup of established and rising talents which suggests a collection of raw, passionate performances that helped elevate the film’s heavy subject matter. When you gather this much talent in one room, you risk egos clashing. However, here, everyone played their position really well.
I must also commend the soundtrack; it felt heartfelt and fit the narrative perfectly. Music serves as the soul of any film, and here, it guided our emotions effortlessly. It supported the narrative without intruding. Furthermore, I admire the intentionality behind the direction. While many filmmakers would simply tell the story through dialogue, Aunty Funke chose to show us instead, it is something often missing in Nollywood. She mobilized the resources to execute this vision impressively. She mastered the golden rule of filmmaking: show, don’t tell.
What I Didn’t Like
I found absolutely nothing to hate about the movie. If anything, it ambushed me. Tell me why I’m crying in a cinema filled with strangers? I hate crying in public; it embarrasses me. But this movie dragged the tears out of me.
But if I may be honest, the acting wasn’t the best for me, Nollywood usually cast influencers not actors who can actually act, they need people with an enormous fan base to be able perfectly market the movie. This is a recurring issue that annoys me. We need to stop sacrificing art for metrics. We need actors who can deliver lines with soul, not just people who look good on Instagram.
Specifically, one casting choice that stood out for the wrong reasons was Uzor Arukwe’s acting, which felt off, as he completely missed the mark as Victor. I love Uzor, don’t get me wrong. He is fantastic in comedy. But here? The energy wasn’t there; most of the time, he felt like he was reading from a script instead of becoming the character. It was painful to watch. He lacked the chemistry with Scarlet, he felt stiff, and ultimately felt out of place. It was a distraction in an otherwise immersive film.
Furthermore, the pacing at the end felt rushed. Behind The Scenes has a lot of conflicts and unnecessary climax, I know the directors wanted to take us by surprise, but truthfully speaking, some scenes were unnecessary, and I can not talk about the scene because it would be me spoiling the hell out of this masterpiece for you. It felt like they tried to pack too much trauma into the final act. Sometimes less is more. So I urge you to go see it, and let’s discuss in the comments.
Verdict
Honestly, you need to watch Behind The Scenes if you want a reflective and poignant narrative that looks beyond the glamour. While the subject is ambitious, the film’s emotional drive and the powerful performances of its cast make it a strong entry into the Nollywood cinematic landscape.
Consequently, the film forces you to re-evaluate your relationships. You might even want to call your siblings and have a serious conversation. Furthermore, the story compels you to book a medical checkup immediately. This is an impactful cinema with many lessons to learn; while it is not perfect, it is undoubtedly original.
My Rating
Behind The Scenes is a pacesetter, I believe others will follow, it bags a deserving 4.5 out of 5 for its originality.
Have you seen Behind The Scenes yet? How did you react to the plot twist?
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