Swallow is a book written by Sefi Atta, the plot of the book is set in the 1980s in Lagos, it portrays two ladies named Tolani and Rose, who were struggling to make ends meet in Lagos. A succession of unfortunate events leads Tolani to be persuaded by her roommate Rose to consider drug trafficking as a way to make a living, Tolani’s involvement led to a series of events including the death of her friend Rose and her going back to her hometown Makoku.
The background of the book talks about drug trafficking and the effects of drug trafficking.
However, the book was adopted by a Nigerian filmmaker and director Kunle Afolayan. He tried to portray the book as much as possible in the movie but a chunk of details were left out, and it didn’t explore the entirety of the book, the movie was released on the first of October 2021 on Netflix, I and many other movie lovers were excited about it and enjoyed watching it.
The movie characters played their roles well most especially the lead actors Ijeoma Grace Agu, who played the role of Rose, and Nigerian music artiste, Eniola ‘Niyola’ Akinbo who played Tolani Ajao. The movie also stars Deyemi Okanlawon, Chioma Chukwuka Akpotha, Mercy Aigbe, Omotunde Adebowale David, Kelvin Ikeduba, Frank Donga, and Eniola Badmus.
There were some differences I spotted between the movie and the novel and that I illustrate in four storytelling issues below:
Storytelling issue 1
The way the story of Tolani’s parents were told in the movie is different from the way it was told in the book, the issue of paternity which was mentioned severally in the novel wasn’t mentioned in the movie at all, Tolani’s relatives and the little girls in the compound that was mentioned when Sanwo came to visit Tolani in the village was also not in the movie.
Storytelling issue 2
The rivalry between Rose and Mrs. Durojaiye wasn’t well represented as it was in the movie and the part where they have a kind of reconciliation and they talked this wasn’t in the movie also.
Storytelling issue 3
The relationship between Sanwo and Tolani ended on a very great note in the movie and it seemed they got back together, but the novel says otherwise although Tolani didn’t reject Sanwo’s proposal neither did she accept it.
Storytelling issue 4
The story of the violent Rose’s sister wasn’t well portrayed in the movie as it was written in the novel. A lot of backstories weren’t told and this could be a lot more confusing to people who haven’t read the book.
The differences pointed out are in no way to discredit the role of any crew member but for someone like me who had already read the novel, I was looking forward to seeing these being portrayed in the movie.
Despite these differences spotted watching the 128 minutes movie, Swallow. The movie Swallow was great and interesting to watch, the cinematographic effect was a delight to see, and how much the cast, crew members, and director were able to as well pay attention to certain details like the movie extras who are also important in the movie production.
The movie Swallow is in no way different from other novels that have been adapted to movies, there is always a case of continuity and losing vital information in this case storyline from the book being adapted. As for Swallow, the director and scriptwriters tried to portray the book in the best way possible in the movie but some scenes never made it.
In conclusion, I will rate the movie Swallow a 7/10 and I recommend it.
AASA PRESS UI 