Mother of George
Mother of George
R | 13 September 2013 (USA)
Mother of George Trailers

A Nigerian couple living in Brooklyn are having trouble conceiving a child - a problem that defies cultural expectations and leads to a shocking decision that could either save or destroy them.

Reviews
NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!
GetPapa Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible
Whitech It is not only a funny movie, but it allows a great amount of joy for anyone who watches it.
Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.
Raven-1969 Many men will do anything to avoid going to the doctor. This film may impel some of them to schedule an appointment, lol! Nigerian immigrants to New York struggle to apply traditional beliefs to a new lifestyle. Some are better at this than others. They discover their hearts to be entwined and hopelessly confused with what they imagined modern and traditional ways to be. Adenike tries to find the path to love with her seemingly traditional husband (or is it really his mother driving him?) Characters and circumstances flit around them like phantoms, good and bad, pulling them in different directions. A mother-in-law presses relentlessly for a grandson, friends encourage Adenike to be more independent even as her husband seeks the opposite, and Adenike's heart tells her many things she cannot long resist, among other burdens. Those at Adenike's wedding who promise that her life will be "sweet as a pineapple" are not there, of course, when life gets tough. Little lovely details, absent in other films, enliven your senses; the bright colors, an open window with street noises drifting through, silence seamlessly switching to music and then gentle voices in a room, contrasting shades of light, the sound of skin on skin, dazzling patterns and shades in clothing, or the outline of an exquisite face. Present here is the beautiful cinematography and sound control characteristic of Kar Wai Wong. The film is worth watching just for this alone.
Edgar Soberon Torchia Rhythm is often defined by locales - while mountain people seem to be rather slow by nature, those born close to sea shores appear to be faster in their movements. So I wouldn't call this film "slow", but idiosyncratically paced, admitting that I might be wrong: maybe Nigerians are faster than what I believe, judging from this film. Then it would be a decision taken by director Andrew Dosunmu, making dialogs and reactions calm to the extreme. I could take this, but what really distanced me was composition within the frame: too often actions are seen in close-ups, even in moments when large crowds are gathered. Maybe we have been conditioned so much by traditional cinema that we expect to see a reaction from a listener when told something that might shock him or her... as the moment when the pregnant Adenike confronts her brother-in-law in his apartment. But once this is accepted and dealt with, one can enjoy this strong drama of choices, tradition and deeply-rooted beliefs, beyond any moral judgment of what is right or wrong. In spite of the endless list of producers and executive producers who capitalize on the work of the creative team, the most remarkable features in "Mother of George" are (besides the performances by Danai Gurira and Yaya DaCosta, as Nike and Sade, the two young women subjected to matriarchy rule and dumb males) the cinematography by Bradford Young and Mobolaji Dawodu's beautiful traditional costumes. The brightness and colors brought by the use of natural and artificial light and the garments, create an atmosphere of hopefulness and joy in the midst of so much sadness and obsession with parenthood. See it.
territerri I rarely want to write reviews about films, but after having seen 'Mother of George' yesterday, I feel compelled to do so. The acting in this movie was superb. I spent years with Nigerian folks, and the way the characters made certain sounds, hard to describe, but Uh- Uh, the way Nigerians do, or sucking in at the teeth, another sound, perhaps unknowingly, I've hear Nigerians, especially Yoruba, make over and over. The accents were also very well done. The film is heavy with close-ups, which are appropriate to convey the emotion of the characters....the burden of the newlywed wife, the claustrophobic working conditions of the husband and his brother, and the stern nature of the husband's mother. This is not a 'Hollywood' movie. The pace may seem slow to many. However, if you want to see an excellently acted film with wonderful cinematography, I highly recommend this movie.
sergiokapusta Just saw Mother of George at Sundance. Movie tells a good story, spiced with ethnical flavor, colorful dresses and way too many close ups. The actors are very good, especially Yaya Alafia. She conveys the naivety of the character and her tortuous decisions. I think that the storytelling needed some faster pace. Many side tales shown in excruciating detail detract from the main thrust. The cinematographer has overdone the close ups and fade aways out of focus. And what is it with starting scenes focusing away from the action (a foot here, a finger there) and letting the audience guess what is going on from noise alone? The best scene, when Ayodele learns the truth about his son, is one time when fading of view and sound are truly effective. Many of the other seem contrived.