In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is one of the most widely known methods of assisted reproduction in which mature eggs retrieved from the ovaries are fertilised by sperm in a laboratory dish. After which the successfully fertilised eggs known as the embryos get transferred into the uterus to develop. Due to the delicate nature of the process, it comes with a lot of complexities. Read more about it here.
Although this method is widely known, it’s reception in a particular society differs. Our society of focus here is Nigeria.
Mama Drama as you may guess from the title description (the texts in smaller fonts under the title), is a movie that explores the theme of motherhood and childbirth from a distinct point of view. A woman having faced numerous miscarriages and near childbirth disappointment opts for In Vitro Fertilization as her last resort to having a baby. Everything does not go as smooth (as is expected in a typical indigenous narrative of such story), but in the end, things measure up just fine. Until an unprecedented occurrence that pushes everyone to an emotional edge. The story apparently is a true life story and wow! We pay our respects to the true owners of the story because it must have been tough! Due to the sensitivity of this situation, this review threads carefully so as to avoid having takes that may be insensitive to the reality of those to whom the story concerns. However, the portrayal of this story as a literary work would be scrutinized.
The style of narration used is the non-linear narrative technique which literally means that the story doesn’t employ a narrative style that explains it in chronological order, instead there are some flashbacks and other literary devices aimed at changing the normal flow. Although this is a beautiful narrative technique, I would say it didn’t play out so well in this story and led to producing a distorted plot. In a lot of scenes where this is used, a hazy picture is painted, leaving the viewers confused.
The conversations held in this movie is the next point I would like to examine. Yes, we understand that this is a sensitive story but the conversations are little too “acted”. I mean if you hear a real life conversation in a movie you would be able to relate to it more but this felt a little too scripted. However, this is not to say that the production did a bad job at being realistic, but with eyes of scrutiny, one would definitely see through the carefully tailored work.
However, this movie does well to treat relevant issues such as that of the predominant theme of IVF, and other sub-themes as emotional intelligence, empathy, the need for legal presence and professionalism (as regarding the execution of an IVF process), and resilience. A lot of times, we see characters portray a lack of emotional intelligence in their choice of words and response to situations (pay close attention to Gboyega and Ifemena’s conversations). While it would be easy to classify this as a part of the flaws of this production and say that the conversations did not project emotional intelligence, I would like to see this as an artiste flexing his poetic license -simply put, I would like to see this as a use of reverse psychology. In that they let the viewer to recognize this as a flaw on their own; either way, the relevance of emotional intelligence is preached.
The story also addresses the reception of the idea of men marrying older women in the Nigerian society. We see that in the hostile reactions of Gboyega’s mother to Ifemena especially in the issue of childbirth.
To wrap this up, I would like to commend that this is an enlightening production and it is recommended!
