“Inside Job” Is A Hodgepodge of Stunted Ideas

Comedy is best enjoyed as a filmic genre when it subtly reveals itself and its virtues. That way, even with characters that do not make sense, who are trapped in ludicrous moments, it ends up making sense. This is one mark that Kenyan creator and director Tosh Gitonga (also known for Nairobi Half Life, Volume, Disconnect) misses in Inside Job. Written by Angela Ruhinda, the story is about two cousins, Tracy and Wambui, who decide to rob an inconsiderate Indian businessman Mr Karia for sacking their housekeeper mother Patricia on accusation of theft without warning or pension. There are crime and sprinkles of romance, which add a bit of flair, but the simple idea of the story leads nowhere in particular.

The title is an idiomatic expression that describes a criminal activity, such as robbery, committed by a person entrusted with a position or with the aid of someone that has direct access to the victim or premises where the crime took place. In the film, at first, the ladies visit Mr Karia and try to talk him into releasing Patricia’s pension. Tracy, the dramatic cousin, portrayed by Kenyan stand-up comedian and actress Mammito,  steals the Indian’s dog, which she thinks is indispensable to him, hoping to leverage the pet for ransome. We do not see this unfold any further, at least just for laughable satisfaction, until the focus switches to the main theft. Again, we have Tracy spearheading the haphazard robbery, and Wambui, played by Jacky Vike, getting along with—if ever there was any—“the plan”. It is fair enough that the ladies are able to easily access the house of Mr Karia (Mehul Savani) without much struggle. But the whole crime part of the story is barely stretched to accommodate more intrigues. On getting to  Mr Karia’s   apartment, the cousins find out there’s an ongoing party for Ravi (Elyas Moshkwani), son of Mr Karia who has just returned from overseas, and join them under the guise of fake names and identities. The cousins try to fit in, with Tracy nearly embarrassing herself for lying about being a good chef.  And just when we begin to imagine how how further crime might unfold, there is a momentary switch to romance. This happens with Ravi and Wambui falling in love with each other.

Yet this romance is not given time to blossom. As Tracy fumbles around the kitchen until she gets her recipe right, Ravi and Wambui spend some time together and communicate (even though both girls bear their false identities)—but the truth is that the would-be lovers do not really get to know each other. The chemistry between them is flattened to brief screen time moments, and the actors do not infuse compelling emotions in the delivery of their roles. Having the house party scene followed up with a few more lovers’ dates or hangouts would have added spice to the romance. Throw in a few awkward moments that point back at the missing money and false identity, and the audience would have been treated to more comically sponsored tensions. But then, and unfortunately so, every opportunity the filmmaker gets to build a passable romantic ideal goes down the drain.

Inside Job is all tomfoolery and bottom-barrel humour, as it subjects the audience to a frivolous screen time of underdeveloped drama and romantic ineptitude. There is, also, an extremely poor attitude towards character development, with even the main characters, especially the cousins, afflicted. A nuanced representation of Tracy’s career and the nature of her relationships with so-called clients, for instance, would have helped to better contextualise her personality. At the end of the day, the film, absorbed by its own absurdity, is neither here nor there, and leaves a stain on contemporary Kenyan cinema.

Inside Job is currently showing on Netflix.