In The Wildflower, The culture of silence surrounding sensitive issues such as rape and domestic violence has been somewhat demystified with a free-flowing discourse on social media. And while these are hot-button issues, it is rare Nollywood deviates from Rom-Coms long enough to tackle these issues, with a few recent examples like Afolayan’s Citation coming to mind. Still, art often imitates life and it is no surprise that a filmmaker of Biodun Stephen’s calibre attempts to take on storytelling in this light.
The Wildflower follows, on one hand, Rolake “Roli” Dabiri (Damilare Kuku), an architectural Master’s Degree holder who works as the personal assistant of the CEO of a successful architectural firm, Gowon Williams (Deyemi Okanlawon) who seems to be playing imposing egotistical monsters back-to-back, a role that suits him. While on a business trip, Gowon rapes Roli. What happens afterwards is a power tussle where Roli seeks to get justice from a system that has failed many others and to punish a man who has the power to end her career.
Wildflower movie trailer. Credit: YouTube
On the other hand, Roli lives next door to Mama Adaolisa (Toyin Abraham), a wife who suffers both physically and emotionally at the hands of her violent husband Prince Jimi (Nosa Rex), and Adaolisa (Sandra Okunzuwa) who has to watch her mother get beaten for slight infractions and still has to fend off the unwanted advances of Johntana (Zubby Micheals).
The cinematography is stellar work. This movie portrays Nigerian everyday realities of women without being too grim or deodorising the difficulties they face. Instead, the plot faces it head-on with all the delicacy it deserves. While this film is chock full of A-list actors, the thespians pull off their roles beautifully – no over-acting, no hysterics. Damilare Kuku, as the lead, is good, almost verging on excellent. Toyin Abraham is a powerhouse and Deyemi is fast becoming one of the most imposing presences on Nollywood’s screens.
The Wildflower is not without its flaws, though. With so many concurrent stories, each one just as important as the next, Mama Adaolisa and Adaolisa are done a complete disservice with how rushed their plot lines are.
Yes, Roli is the main character, but since the movie has a hard time deciding which story it wants to focus on, by the end of the second quarter of the movie, it morphs into a courtroom drama. While well done, it almost seems like it belonged to an entirely different movie.
The Wildflower is still a story that needed to be told despite its perceived flaws. As with Biodun Stephen’s recent fare, it was thoughtful, measured, and really very well done. While of course so many of these stories are hard to tell, it is completely refreshing to see storytelling in Nollywood move on to contemporary issues. This movie is, ultimately, about teaching women to stand strong in the face of heavy tribulations. That is a commendable lesson.
Didi Dan-Asisah is an art enthusiast and critic. She lives in Lagos.
Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.
