Director: Kunle Afolayan
Cast: Niyola, Deyemi Okanlawon, Chioma Chukwuka Akpotha , Kunle Afolayan , Mercy Aigbe , Eniola Badmus , Omotunde Adebowale David , Kevin Ikeduba , Ijeoma Grace Agu , Bala Bello
Plot: A naive secretary whom after a series of career woes, considers her roommate's offer to work as a drug mule in mid-1980s Lagos. Waylaid by life's pressures in 1980s Lagos, Nigeria, Tolani becomes involved in drug smuggling with her streetwise friend and must face the fallout.
My Movie Review: The movie is gritty and bit chaotic it takes patience when you watch this kind of story to find the hidden gem towards the end one may feel nonsense but come through! The main themes about drug pill to swallow by the women who want to escape the poverty and change their destiny one whose bent in line of survival can do everything seem impossible! Swallow is a Nigerian drama set in capital city Lagos of the 1980s, two women room together in a dilapidated apartment, both working as assistants in the bank. Rose (Ijeoma Grace Agu) is regularly abused by her lecherous boss. When she talks back to him, he fires her. He replaces her with Rose's roommate Tolani (Niyola) and the abuse begins anew. Out of money, Rose throws herself at OC, a mysterious man tossing around cash at the market. He buys her nice things and assumed they're having sex, although there's no visual indication of it. In exchange, he expects her to swallow wrapped-up drugs and smuggle them into various international cities. Tolani is struggling with Sanwo, a hopeless boyfriend she doesn't seem to respect! They've been together for years but he won't marry her until he's financially established and, since he doesn't have a job, likely the prospects for nuptials aren't good. Tolani condemns the hypocrisy of the Christian church, the unfairness of her workplace, the idiocy of her boyfriend when he's scammed out of the money she lent him, and other annoyances it's choice take turn!
Critics Reviews: Swallow brings its characters and 1980s Lagos to life, and asks the central question: how far will you go to get by, while keeping your dignity intact? A haunting mini drama... The subjects in Swallow would make anyone cry -- poverty, sexual harassment, drug dealing, systemic corruption -- but the movie and all the characters are flat and emotionless! People are either talking loudly or in a monotone, but nothing feels real, nothing seems to come from the heart. Perhaps it's because so many in the cast are non-actors. The result is two hours of valuable material oppression of the poor, downwardly-mobile lives, religions taking advantage of rather than helping the needy wasted in drama-less social drama. Scenes dribble on far too long. Logic eludes most of the characters. The one theme that emerges -- far too late -- is that the film's most intelligent character finds her voice and finally starts to call it as she sees it. Perhaps the English subtitles are translated badly. Perhaps the cultural habits and customs of Lagos in the 1980s cannot be understood by Americans of the 2020s. But one thing is sure -- the movie doesn't get interesting or even seem to reflect any kind of emotional truth until a good 85 minutes in. The last 45 seem the most real, but it would be hard to imagine an audience sticking with this that long- families can talk about how the movie talks about poverty!
No comments:
Post a Comment