I’m no longer sure what Kunle Afolayan is really up to with this idea of casting non-actors in lead roles. He started with Simi in ‘Mokalik’, Chidinma Ekile in ‘The Bridge’ (not a KAP/Golden Effects Production) and then Temi Otedola in ‘Citation’. And as if he was oblivious to the negative reviews that were generated after each release, he has gone ahead to repeat the same formula with the singer and songwriter, Eniola Akinbo (known professionally as Niyola), thrusting her into the lead of his first Netflix original, ‘Swallow’.
Guess what? Just like ‘Mokalik’, ‘The Bridge’ and perhaps ‘Citation’, the first half of this movie was a drag in spite of Afolayan’s brilliant efforts in recapturing life in the 80s Lagos.
Being an adaption of a novel by Sefi Atta with the same title, one would expect that any producer/director would not risk a non-actor to portray a strong lead character. Afolayan is a brilliant filmmaker. He never gets it wrong when narrating, and audio-visually too, but the last time that I maximally enjoyed a KAP production was ‘Phone Swap’. ‘Figurine’ also did it for me as well as ‘October 1’. And these are films that starred seasoned actors.
It is all well to offer a promising newbie a role and a chance, but this should be interspersed and not become routinised. More importantly, you do not discount experience in regard to certain roles interpretation.
In all, with the meticulous art directions and cinematography, the 128-minute feature-length flick which tells the story of how a young lady, Tolani and her friend got pressured into drug peddling, seems a good watch on Netflix. Other cast members include Chioma Chukwuka Akpotha, Deyemi Okanlawon, Mercy Aigbe, Eniola Badmus, and Ijeoma Grace Agu who deserves a Lead Support nomination because of her brilliant performance as Rose.