Swallow is an adaptation of a novel written by Sefi Atta. It follows 2 young ladies as they try to navigate life in Lagos and the choices they have to make in their bid to escape poverty.
Let me start by saying the movie was bland. Imagine watching a movie without low or high points, you could stop watching at intervals and still not feel like you missed anything important . I was boooooooored!!
I kept on expecting things to pick up but it never did. Kunle Afolayan is a brilliant filmmaker but this one o, i did not enjoy it.
Casting and acting was a challenge. Afolayon is known for his boldness when it comes to casting. He got it right with Temi in the movie Citation but I am sorry to say that Niyola’s acting just did not work for me. Her voice, her expressions, her delivery, everything just did not look right. It seemed like I was watching a rehearsal.
Thank God for Rose the supporting actress (played by Ijeoma Grace Agu). I dare say she was the only reason I did not sleep off while watching this movie.
I had issues with some other characters but a major minus was Godwin (played by Frank Donga). I just could not take him seriously. Meanwhile, what was that horrendous wig on his head??????
The storyline itself was just somehow. What was the focus? Drug trafficking or sexual molestation? We saw more of Salako and his lewd ways than details about drugs trafficking. I could not see the poverty that was pushing the girls o.
The movie setting was not remarkable, I saw the clothes and the ugly wigs that they used to recreate that period but I feel they could have done more. They were unable to adequately depict the vibrancy of Lagos at that time as well as the political climate. We only saw shots of the same group of people, wearing the same clothes, watching football and screaming over and over again on the same spot. It was tiring.
As earlier stated , this movie is an adaptation of a novel. I took the time to read the book in order to be sure of the actual problem, is Kunle Afolayan losing his touch?
Sefi Atta is a renowned Nigerian author but I am sorry to say that Swallow the novel was a drag too.
I don’t read Nigerian novels because the authors are always so concerned about proving the “Africaness” of their story they make everything sound unnecessarily academic.
Anyway, Afolayan in my opinion did not have too much to work with, the lead character in the main novel was boring with little or no personality and the supporting actress was the main vibe (maybe Afolayan knew what he was doing when he picked Niyola after all). I can say that he was able to mirror the book to a very large extent.
Although I must confess that there were so many back stories in the novel (they adopted the use of flashbacks in the novel) that could not be addressed in the movie.
The movie also had so many themes which Afolayan did not need to address. I am of the opinion that Afolayan should have focused on one major theme or angle, instead of trying to touch on all the themes raised by the novel.
He also did not portray Sanwo’s character properly. In the novel, Sanwo had a personality, he was someone who believed in morality, he could be hypocritical but he had a kind heart, he was always giving his money to his family, and he believed he was responsible for his unmarried sisters, he was an idealist who was always visualizing the next big thing. I could not place the Sanwo in this movie.
Despite these things , I believe Afolayan captured the essence of the novel.
But not everyone has read the book, not everyone will read the book in order to give the movie a chance, we should not have to read a book before we can enjoy a movie.
Do I still think Afolayan is a great filmmaker? Yes. Did he choose the wrong novel? Maybe. All I know is Swallow the movie was underwhelming and it left me feeling disappointed
Overall it was just there.
Rating: 5/10
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