At the Netflix premiere of ‘Devil Is a Liar’, what began as a glamorous screening quickly turned into a debate about revenge, love, and the weight of societal expectations.
The film, written by Tunde Babalola and directed by Moses Inwang, follows Adaora (played by Nse Ikpe-Etim) as her search for love collides with betrayal and the relentless pressure to marry.
Produced by Esse Odometa for Hedge Productions and now sitting as the No. 1 film in Nigeria on Netflix, the drama has already struck a chord with audiences. But on premiere night, it wasn’t just the story on screen sparking conversation, the cast and crew couldn’t resist grappling with the same themes the film explores.
Betrayal and Revenge: Would You Forgive or Strike Back?
Actor James Gardiner, teased for his reputation as Nollywood’s go-to troublemaker, laughed off the allegation: “I’m a good guy, guys. I’ve played a good guy before!”
But the answers got sharper when the conversation turned to betrayal; the very heart of Adaora’s journey.
- “If betrayal finds me, I will take it,” Etinosa Idemudia declared. “I will gozzle it to get my pound of flesh. Because you can’t be hurting people and expect your life to move forward.”
- Wale Ojo agreed he wouldn’t hesitate either: “Unless there is divine interruption and God says chill. But if not, no, I’ll grab my revenge.”
- Boma Akpore, however, chose peace: “I’ll just leave you with the good memories. My wife would say, let it go.”
The contrast mirrored Adaora’s own dilemma between retribution and resilience on screen.
Love Across the Age Divide
The cast then shifted to another charged subject woven into the film: age-gap romance.
For James Gardiner, connection mattered more than numbers: “If the person ticks the criteria for who I’m looking for, that’s it. It’s more about the connection.”
Etinosa Idemudia challenged double standards: “If an older man can marry a younger woman, why not the other way around? A younger man can fall in love with an older woman. Love doesn’t only work one way.”
Director Moses Inwang summed it up: “Love defies every other concept of human existence: age, tribe, class. Something strikes you about someone, and you know this person is for you. That’s that.”
For screenwriter Tunde Babalola, the film cuts deeper than romantic melodrama. He drew attention to the cultural pressure that shapes Adaora’s decisions:
“There’s this pressure on women especially: you must graduate by this time, marry by this time, have a child by this time. It pushes people into the wrong marriages. If someone marries at 35 or 40, so be it. It doesn’t mean you should jump into the wrong thing.”
His words captured why ‘Devil Is a Liar’ resonates: it doesn’t just tell a story of betrayal, it reflects the silent struggles many face between family expectations and personal happiness.
With performances from Nse Ikpe-Etim, James Gardiner, Nancy Isime, Etinosa Idemudia, Boma Akpore, Mercy Aigbe, and Wale Ojo, ‘Devil Is a Liar’ delivers. But the film’s true power lies in its ability to spark debate long after the credits roll.
At its premiere, laughter mixed with serious confession as actors and creators laid bare their own views on love, revenge, and the pressure to marry. For audiences streaming it now, the questions linger: when love betrays you, what do you do: fight back, or walk away?
