By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Arie Esiri | Chuko Esiri
Starring: Ayo Edeberi | Danny Sapani | David Oyelowo | Nikki Amuka-Bird | Sophie Okonedo
Year: 2026
Running time: 125
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33335610/
Val says: “Yes to a sumptuous production, vibrant celebration of Nigeria’s diverse landscape, lickable cinematography, gorgeous cast and award-worthy hair, makeup and costume. I very much enjoyed the subtelty and yet undeniable juxtaposition of the privelaged lives of our main cast and those of the vast majority of Nigerians, amidst a volatile and unsettling political situation. We’re shown the main characters’ lives of leisure around tables inside luxury compounds where they are waited on hand and foot while academically debating whether others are against colonization strongly enough, then we get long glimpses at the unnamed masses living and working in modern Nigeria. A brilliant examination of the hypocrisy of the rich, while allowing us into their very real inner struggles for satisfaction, validation, and love. Sophie Okonedo smolders every moment she’s onscreen. Ayo Edebiri is a treat. Toheeb Jimoh pulls you in with every longing gaze. The entire ensemble cast is absolutely stunning – maybe a little TOO stunning. As much as the visual language was a feast for the eyes, I felt that the depiction of the ‘real’ Nigeria was a bit subverted as a result, which weakened the film a bit for me. 4 cats.”
Chris says: “I kicked off my TIFF with Nigerian filmmakers/twin brothers Arie and Chuko Esiri’s follow-up to their feature debut Eyifome (This is My Desire) which I had coincidentally seen five years ago to the exact date (it was my first cinema screening since the Covid shutdowns eighteen months before.) Eyimofe was eye-catching and unique, a diptych regarding a man and a woman in Lagos each confronting a hardship related to another family member.
“For their second feature, they’ve chosen to adapt Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway of all things. Given a closer look, however, the text’s domestic drama and interpersonal relationships have some precedent in the earlier film. Working with a larger budget and international actors portends a sellout move but no fear—for a Woolf adaptation, Clarissa retains the vivid sense of place and attention present in the minute gestures of their previous film but on a vaster scale.
“Not too familiar with Woolf’s novel apart from its interpolation in THE HOURS is, the film’s first half was a bit hard to follow, shifting between two time periods and devoting ample time to a seemingly ancillary character. Fortunately, these strands come together in the second half with said character not so much galvanizing the narrative as he enables us to more closely understand Clarissa (played by a dazzling Sophie Okonedo as older and by promising newcomer India Ria Amarteifo as younger.) Transposing this story to Lagos also opens it up substantially while still targeting the universality of Woolf’s construct of a middle-aged woman throwing a big party for herself, reflecting on a life lived and pondering what it all means.
“While David Oyelowo and Ted Lasso actor Toheeb Jimoh are both good as respectively older and younger versions of Clarissa’s ex-lover Peter, the arguably highest profile cast member steals the show. As Clarissa’s tart young friend Sally, Ayo Edebiri is relatable and charismatic as ever, reminding one of her defining work in “The Bear: and BOTTOMS rather than her subsequent string of film flops. Whenever Clarissa occasionally drifts or risks pathos from its various tragedies, she fully lights up the screen—a stirring contrast to Okonedo, whose gimlet-eyed gaze is more of a chiaroscuro effect. 4 cats”
Beth Cu says: “This movie swept me away – such lush images, just beautifully shot, and wonderful production design & costuming. It was Mrs Dalloway set in Nigeria, during early 2000s and rise of Boko Haram, and current day. So the cast had older & younger versions, and the casting was stellar: you knew exactly who was who. Very pleasantly surprised that Queen Charlotte (actress India Amarteifio) was the younger version of Sophie Okenedo! They were all gorgeous, the whole lot of ‘em . 4 cats.”