Admirable film.

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Mother of George (2013) was directed by Andrew Dosunmu. It stars the lovely Danai Gurira as Adenike Balogun, newly married to Ayodele Balogun (Isaach De Bankolé). Although the setting is Brooklyn, we're shown that the old ways brought over from Nigeria still have a profound effect on people's behavior.The title of the movie, "Mother of George," is realistic. As much as the young couple love each other, they are under the spell of George's mother, who controls many aspects of their life and their destiny.The central plot theme is that, for whatever reason, Adenike doesn't conceive. This is never easy for any couple, but it's particularly difficult in the Nigerian culture, where a woman is supposed to conceive quickly, and often.This is an amazing film, suspenseful, thoughtful, and colorful. We saw it at Rochester's wonderful Little Theatre. You'll lose some of the sense of the neighborhood and the costumes on the small screen, but it will work well enough to definitely be worth seeing.

An intimate study of motherhood, and fatherhood, within an alternative culture transplanted from Africa to America. As everywhere, cultural pressures lead to choices that have consequences far beyond hopes.To be a mother is the most important duty of a wife; so she is told. When Danai cannot fulfill her duty, she seeks solutions both within her heritage and from Western medicine. When she finally succeeds, the choices she has made threaten to destroy her.This film is exquisitely photographed and remarkably well acted, especially by Adenike Balogun in the role of Danai, trying her best to do when she believes is right for the husband she loves.

Ayodele and Adonike (Isaach de Bankole and Danai Gurira) are a happy newlywed Nigerian couple living in Brooklyn. However, fractures start to appear in their marriage when Ayodele's overbearing mother grows restless waiting for them to conceive (something they've been unsuccessfully trying to do) and starts to insist that the marriage be dissolved and Ayodele take another wife.This simple but powerful drama is driven by strong sensory impressions happening around the story rather than the story itself. With its rich and vibrant color scheme, Mother of George is one of the most beautifully-shot films I've ever seen. In aesthetic beauty, full use of every inch of a widescreen frame, color, and texture, this film's cinematography is rivaled by a couple of Wong Kar-Wai's films shot by Christopher Doyle...perhaps.The music is no less effective, a blend of traditional Nigerian music, avant-garde score, and symphonic classical music.Everything about the way this film was made in terms of aesthetics and blocking is essentially perfect. So perhaps it's a little disappointing that the script and story, while a good enough one about the tragedy of traditions, could have gone a little further? It could have matched the richness of the film's compositions, the complexity of the fabrics of the gorgeous clothing the characters wear. As it is, it's a fairly simple traditional morality fable. With only five speaking roles given any importance, it has the feel of a baroque chamber drama.

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.