FOR MARIA, DAMILOLA ORIMOGUNJE MAKES NIGERIANS REFLECT ON A TOPIC CONSIDERED TRIVIAL

Synopsis/Summary

Just like in his previous attempts, all shorts, Writer-Director Damilola Orimogunje uses For Maria to break a fallow ground – an untouched topic in the Nigerian movie industry, post-partum depression. Produced in the year 2020, the movie which exposes the traumatic experiences of painful childbirth and the distress that comes with being a first-time mother is an eye-opener and a ‘jolter’ for the society that barely knows or speaks enough about the issue.

For Maria is the story of Derin (Meg Otanwa), a new mother who struggles with post-partum anxiety and depression after a complicated delivery. She then begins to withdraw from family and friends, until…(no spoiler).

For Maria, the 76 minutes Damilola’s directorial feature debut, casts Meg Otanwa, Gabriel Afolayan, Tina Mba, co-written by Tunray Femi and photographed by David Wyte.

For Maria premiered at Film Africa in November 2020 and won The Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature and also got six nominations at the AMAA awards, including Best Writing and Directing.

 

Central Dramatic Problem (CDP)

Known for addressing social issues in his previous projects like Mo, Losing My Religion, Heaven Baby, Damilola takes a different route to introduce us to the inciting incident and then, the major dramatic quest for the major character and question on the mind of the viewer, “will Derin overcome her PPD?”

For Maria is compatible with our culture of ignorance, ‘we-think-we-know’. The movie also expresses the culture of motherhood – a typical Nigerian mother, with the praying, care, sometimes, defiance. The naming ceremony is also very relatable.

Plot/Sub-plot/Plants

Without going roundabout to portray the difficult delivery in the tensed labour room and then show us the exhausted mother carrying her baby and those clichés, For Maria employs minimalism and melancholy, which Damilola is known for, to pin us into the world of the film story. While the proud first-time father, Fola rocks his new baby, the doctor delivers the terrible news – the complications of the delivery necessitated the removal of Derin’s uterus. And, while Fola falls asleep waiting for his wife to recover, so they can go home with their bundle of joy, Derin bursts into uncontrollable tears. Mother and baby are alive and well, yet the mother is far from being happy, she is broken.

Absent-mindedly, Derin is driven home in the company of her husband and mother-in-law who prayerfully carried the newborn baby into the house. Distressed and going through the post-delivery pain after loss of blood during labour, coupled with the discomfort of her baby-bump body, she begins to withdraw from family members and people around. She is disinterested in things that used to make her leap for joy. She wouldn’t even smile during the christening of her child, whom she names Maria. Just as Fola is about revealing to their friend, A.Y.  the meaning of that popular nomenclature, especially among the people of the South-West in Nigeria, he is interrupted by Tola (Judith Audu), leaving us to go and find out that the meaning is, lots of bitterness.

Alas! Weeks after the day of delivery, Derin would not bond with her baby. She wouldn’t even carry, breastfeed or cope with her cries. This immediately creates conflict between her and her mother-in-law who would not have all of Derin’s supposed overreactions and lack of motherhood adaptability.

As she continues to find a way to cope with Maria’s cries, giving her ‘formula feed’ instead of breastmilk, Derin hopes to overcome her post-natal pains with regular appointments with the doctor. But the pain would not go away, also, the pressure from her mother-in-law, who becomes more agitated when Derin revealed she is not going to have another child.  This then leads the Derin’s protest to have her leave the house, claiming she can handle the care of Maria herself. We are thereby ushered into the second half of the film story – the part without the mother-in-law. The effect is immediately seen as Maria wouldn’t stop crying in Derin’s arms but would feel comfortable in her father’s. “There is a problem and it’s obvious because everyone can see it” – for the first and only time, Fola seems to crumble under the weight of his wife’s persistent deflective attitude.

More worries – bleeding gum, losing her hair, but Fola would not stop making his wife look on the brighter side only for Derin to reveal what the point of her major worry is, which leaves him dumbfounded and more worried. A fight then ensues between them, heightened by Maria’s cry. Derin locks herself up in the bathroom creating a cloud of fear over her husband.

Screenplay

The screenplay which is responsible for 50% of the movie’s success, is simple, progressive, and revealing. Not doing too much, at the same time, not doing so little. The storyline is structured in a way that makes it easy to follow and the story flows seamlessly setting up the plot and its characters seamlessly while building up the conflict.  The screenplay sets up with revelations of a barely touched societal issue and pays off with an unexpected ending. Not sure anyone would anticipate the end. Not even while one is busy expecting the movie to really kick-off. Yes. The over-simplicity of the structure kind of affects the conflict. It is obvious the writers – Damilola and Tunray totally set out to avoid demonizing any of the characters.

Character and Characterisation

Fola, Derin’s husband is the cool, calm, and collected type of hubby you might not likely find in any other Nollywood movie of this kind. Patient, empathic, available, Fola is a representation of an almost perfect husband and I think the function of this character ironically is to educate men who had found or might find themselves in such situations. Expectedly, Gabriel Afolayan kills this role

Derin’s mother-in-law (Tina Mba) is used to create a character/human conflict in the first stanza of the whole plot, without making her an antagonist. She is the representation of an average Nigerian mother with years of experience in motherhood and is willing to be helpful and supportive for her child’s family. She feels there is nothing new with post-delivery that she doesn’t understand or the mother cannot overcome by herself, but she is innocently wrong. This misunderstanding and lack of empathy create dramatic conflict between her and Derin and she labels her a “useless mother”. Tina Mba makes this role enjoyable and relatable. We can all almost see her as our mother. She personalizes the role in a way that makes it relatable. She is the mother that prays for her children, supports her children, and openly scolds her children. And playing a Yoruba mother is becoming more enjoyable to watch and the way she interprets the bond between her and her son is great.

Derin is the heroine of the story. Living through a terrible experience that is alien to the people around her. She is expected to just snap out of her condition. She is at odds with life, people around, and her newborn baby. The weight of this role is obviously magnanimous. Damilola reveals that he often asks his actors to sit with real people who are going through same issues and, Meg Otanwa clearly murdered this role. Even without saying so much, she successfully mirrors the pains, the mood, absent-mindedness, loneliness with an impressionable performance. She practically wears Derin as her skin and makes her relatable, making her leave the screen to live with us. Arguably, her performance is responsible for 40% of the movie’s success. From the top of one’s head, it’s a big task finding who else could land such performance.

Cinematography

The cinematography of For Maria is minimal, informative, and not immersive. Often keeping the viewer at arm’s length, making us sympathise with the situations as well as making us realise we might not be able to really empathise. Damilola and David Wyte use a lean cinematography style to limit the viewer’s POV and attention, restraining the details and closeups. They avoid the back and forth cuts between characters to eschew melodrama and keep it simple. Although this relatively contributes to the downside of the movie as that strategy was obviously overused at some points, blocking the viewer from some reaction shots that would have helped shape perspectives. However, it is clear the stunt is deliberate.

Directorial Prowess/Production Design/Post-production

Damilola’s directorial signature comes out clear – minimalism, controlling perspectives, and grounding attention, he tells the story mostly, full body shots and medium shots. Every frame is beautifully framed like a painting, helped by the simple production designs with relevant colour pallets, hues of depression. No unnecessary music. He clearly uses the right music to score the mood of each scene, using silence where relevant to keep us with the characters.

Lesson Learnt

The takeaway from this movie is pretty clear. There are treatable conditions, solvable issues in our society that might easily lead to a tragic outcome if we continue to pay little attention to them.

Conclusion

For Maria is a simple, arthouse movie with simple messages, although it falls a bit short in building a climax towards its resolution. Maybe this is deliberate. Many would definitely feel disappointed with the ending, but, such is life.

Verdict

For Maria deserves an 80/100. You are the bomb, be ready for Oscars. Cheers!

 

Picture Credits- Internet