Lady film review
Cast: Jessica Gabriel’s Ujah, Amanda Oruh, Tinuade Jemiseye, Binta Ayo Mogaji, Seun Kuti, Bucci Franklin
Director: Olive Nwosu
Star rating: ★★★.5
Lady, the directorial debut from Olive Nwosu, marks the arrival of a strong new voice. On the surface, it is a vibrant character study of a female taxi driver in the Nigerian capital, Lagos. People call her Lady, and she is played by Jessica Gabriel’s Ujah, an actor whose eyes can hold the frame from a mile away. But as the film unfolds in its chaotic, unbridled energy, it becomes a portrait of governmental failure, rampant corruption, and the price one pays to run away. (Also read: In Barbara Forever, a pioneer of queer cinema gets a moving and incandescent tribute | Sundance Film Festival review)
The premise
Lady is the only female taxi driver in Lagos. She knows how this is uncanny and therefore works hard to protect her own peace by putting up a tough exterior. Nwosu intelligently crafts the early scenes in which she prepares for the day at home, and once she is out in the chaos, she is not to be messed with. Even as fuel prices rise, inflation spirals, and people take to the streets to protest, Lady carries on with her day. She saves up money and dreams of going to Freetown, Sierra Leone, her mother’s birthplace.
Her daily routine is disrupted when she meets Pinky (Amanda Oruh) after 5 years. What is she doing here? Turns out, Pinky is making a living as a sex worker and one night she makes Lady an offer to drive her girls for work, and she will, of course, get paid well for it. She says yes. Huddled with free-spirited sex workers in her car, Lady finds herself transformed slowly, seeing their choices and forming an easy bond with them.
What works
Even as Lady charts a somewhat predictable path of a coming-of-age saga of discovery and wonder, Nwosu elevates this story with a thrilling sense of urgency. Her filmmaking is keenly aware of the place and time, situating the socio-political concerns with dramatic ease. Lagos emerges as a character in its own, sprawling and bursting with energy and rage. Working with cinematographer Alana Mejia Gonzalez, Nwosu takes time to situate the lack of privacy, the congestion, the unerring sense of impatience that hovers in daily livelihood to make more money. Every interaction matters; it is akin to a transaction.
What truly gives this film its beating heart is the ensemble cast, each of them excellently cast by Sukanmi Sukki. Ujah is terrific as the woman caught up in the middle, as we slowly see her emerge from the cold demeanour over the course of this journey. The scenes with the women in the car, gossiping and giggling, are a joy to behold. They are wonderfully shot and written, teeming with authenticity. Lady is a love letter to sisterhood and female friendships, as well as an examination of a tumultuous land caught up in its own forces.
Santanu Das is covering the Sundance Film Festival as part of the accredited press.