By Naomi Salami
Movie Title: Wildflower
Release Date: 27, May 2022
Runtime: 1 hour 47 mins.
Director: Biodun Stephen
Producer: Vincent Okonkwo
Background
This Netflix movie, Wildflower, clearly charts the path for victims of domestic abuse to cry whenever they are confronted by this monster.
Today’s society is aware of the horrors of domestic violence and rape. The film, which was directed by Biodun Stephen, does a good job of illuminating these monsters who perepetrate it and the psychological effects they have on the victims. In the film Wildflower, three characters—two ladies and a teenage girl—fall victim to situations that, regrettably, are now commonplace. Despite having been released on May 27, 2022, the film now holds the top spot in this week’s Netflix top 10.
The Plot
The movie begins by showing us one of our main characters, Rolake Dabiri played by Damilare Kuku, who seemed to be preparing for an interview with one of the leading architectural firms in the country. Even though she was overqualified for the role of a personal assistant, her determination to work with CEO Gowon Williams (Deyemi Okanlawon) was a strong motivation for her because of his influence in the industry. A chance she finally got but regretted terribly. Unknown to Rolake, Gowon turned out to be a serial rapist and she unfortunately became his next victim.
Our second character was Mama Adaolisa played by Toyin Abraham, who lived in the same compound as Rolake and also endured domestic abuse from her husband played by Nosa Rex. Although it was obvious to the neighbourhood that she was used as a stepping stone every day in her home, the victim herself was blindsided about her views of marriage and insisted in one of her conversations with Rolake that this was a normal occurrence in many homes. Her belief and ignorance led to her unfortunate death during one of the beatings and the husband vanished into thin air after the incident. Her two kids, Adaolisa and Cecilia (Sandra Okunzuwa and Angel Unigwe) were left alone and traumatised and at the mercy of the neighbours. But due to Rolake’s good nature, she took it upon herself to take the kids in despite facing her challenges.
Due to the mother’s tragic death, Adaolisa (Sandra Okunzuwa) narrowly escapes the claws of a sexual predator called Johntanna (Zubby Michael), who lived in their neighbourhood and tried to prey on the girl’s emotional state. This incident happened around the same time Rolake was raped by her boss.
The movie progresses, as we see Rolake and Adaolisa battle hard for their voice not to be silenced by the society which wants to turn them into villains rather than victims. Unfortunately for Mama Adaolisa, she didn’t live to free herself from the cageless prison she had found herself in, and instead became a victim of circumstance.
The Casts
The selection of the cast was amazing. Toyin Abraham always seems to amaze the audience anytime she is on the big screen. Her versatility, whenever it comes to embodying a particular character, should be recognised and awarded. Also, Deyemi Okanlawon has gained notoriety for his remarkable ability to portray a villain in the majority of his films. He gives a similar performance in Blood Sisters on Netflix as he did in Wildflower. It wasn’t a surprise when he delivered on his part quite well.
Our naturally beautiful actress, Damilare Kuku, author of the book, “Nearly All the Men in Lagos are Mad” might not be a popular face to some on the big screen but she brought her ‘A’ game to the table. And let’s not forget about the teenage actresses who we can tell are going to be Nollywood’s next finest.
Credit: FilmOneNG on YouTube
Drawbacks
There were a lot of loose ends in the movie which could have been tied before the movie came to an end. We never knew what happened to the husband of Mama Adaolisa and why her case was never investigated. We also didn’t know what happened to Adaolisa’s as she was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Did she ever recover from the incident?
The movie was clear about Rolake’s story taking precedence over the other subplots but it would have been better if they had tied up the loose ends of the other stories instead of ending it with only one resolved plot.
Opinion
Despite these drawbacks, Wildflower does more than just tell a tragic tale of three women but it also does its own part of psychologically empowering women on the steps to take when faced with such unfortunate circumstances. Society unfortunately has made it normal for women to be muted when abused. Women who speak out when abused always have to face two sides of society; the ones who don’t believe them and emotionally abuse them and the ones who blame them for being victims of such abuse.
The director, Biodun Stephen is known for using her movies to mirror the realities of life. If you are a fan of her, you would notice that the common factor in all films is the silent plea for improvement and for us to do better as a society.
If you haven’t watched The Wildflower, it is currently streaming on ‘Netflix’ and it is a must-watch.
Naomi Salami is a Content Manager with Meiza Nigeria.
