A star studded cast usher in a modern day Nigerian adaption of Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, exploring identity, mental health, class dynamics, colonialism and the complexities of relationships. After premiering at the Cannes Film Festival in May and receiving rousing ovations, Clarissa finally made its Alberta premiere at the Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF) on September 26th at the Globe Cinema and on October 1st at Chinook Cineplex, coincidentally Nigeria Independence Day.
Directed by twin brothers Arie and Chuko Esiri and beautifully shot on 35mm film, Clarissa follows the title character Clarissa, played by the incomparable, British-Nigerian actress and Academy Award nominee Sophie Okonedo, a privileged socialite in Lagos, Nigeria, who encounters memories of her young adulthood as she reunites with close friends in a single night while trying to host a lavish garden party. India Amarteifio plays young Clarissa, the anticolonial daughter of rich parents who open their estate in Abraka to Clarissa’s friends. We are then introduced to Sally, portrayed by Ayo Edebiri in a captivating performance as a somewhat rebellious, outspoken young woman who loves cigarettes. Edebiri flexes her charm and surprising realistic British accent, embodying a posh character audiences haven’t seen her take on.
The film seamlessly shifts back and forth between a recently independent Nigeria, to modern times as the film depicts Nigeria trying to modernize while facing the battle threats of Boko Haram.
In present day, we see Clarissa's loveless marriage to Richard (Jude Akuwudike), their teenage daughter who is not concerned with attending the dinner before the party and their polished home. Emmy nominee, David Oyelowo portrays Peter, a failed writer and Clarissa’s former lover, who makes an unannounced trip to Nigeria. Peter asks his personal driver to stop at an address, which happens to be Clarissa’s home. The frustration of organizing a party and dealing with incompetent workers takes a stand still when Peter enters her compound. Their short reunion has undertones of lost love and speculations of what could have been if they stayed together. We later learn, after watching younger Clarissa and Peter's (Toheeb Jimoh) romantic rendezvous, Clarissa tells him that she can’t be the person he loves. Perhaps it comes from her criticism on how he uses the word “primal” in his poetry about colonialism since it has negative connotations towards Black people, lending to Peter’s lack of writing success later in his adult life due to distance between his former lover and muse Clarissa.
The scene cuts to a shot of Clarissa’s reflection in a sliding glass door, pondering about her past. There are a few other shots of her reflection in windows, mirrors, and ripples of water from her family pool in a flashback to her younger self. Her attention is often caught by the presence of a kingfisher bird on a branch, which represents peace, prosperity, and freedom. These moments represent bringing attention to analyze one's own inner emotions and experiences.
Clarissa’s love life gets more ambiguous as we see glimpses of romance between her and Sally – intimate long stares at the pool at midnight, and tender kisses in bedrooms. Though brief, this storyline came as a surprise as queerness is often unseen in Nigerian stories due to the criminalization and stigmatization of same-sex relationships in the country.
The rest of the friend group reminisce about their past and lost desires of their youth. The comedic Ugo (Danny Sapani, younger self played by Kehinde Cardoso) who works for the unfriendly Lady Maryam (Joke Silva) is the glue that keeps the friend group connected, capturing memories on camera in their younger years and encouraging everyone to groove on the dance floor at Clarissa’s party. In a scene from the present day, we see that adult Sally (Nikki Amuka-Bird) has a son who she drops off at the airport to travel on his own with a guardian, a stark difference from her younger, slightly irresponsible self.
All five friends are upper class and financially well off, sporting clean tailored traditional and English clothing, jewelry and visuals of a fancy hotel and large family estates. The five are also seen to have personal drivers, cooks and helpers. The imagery of their lives contrast the quick shots of bustling, poor villages, barefoot kids playing soccer in the street, and men and women working humble jobs in shops. These moments that show the difference in lived experiences between social classes in Nigeria is an ever present theme in Clarissa, considering that 126 million Nigerians live below the poverty line, more than half of the population.
Sally, Peter, Richard, Ugo and Clarissa are all British-Nigerian, mixing between authentic Nigerian Pidgin and English. We see the difference in living conditions between Nigerians born or raised abroad and the working class, native born Nigerians. Working class characters are constantly reprimanded or ordered around, though Clarissa does not use spite in her voice, unlike her father who, in a flashback, openly berates house help for not wearing gloves when serving food for Clarissa’s friends.
This film also features a stunning performance from Fortune Nwafor as Septimus, a former military soldier who fought Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria. His eyes looked empty and focused and he truly embodied the demeanor of an overworked soldier, composed and prepared for military drills and routines. His quiet performance takes a turn in an office scene where his wife Aisha, who is also Clarissa’s tailor, seeks help from a counselor about her husband's failing mental health, which he denies he is suffering from in a short, contained outburst. Septimus joins his wife to visit Clarissa’s home, as Clarissa needs Aisha to help fix her dress for the evening.
We also see a flashback of his former roommate, friend and staff sergeant, Evans (Chuks Joseph) suffering from a mental breakdown after witnessing corruption involving a top commander selling ammunition to civilians. Evans enters a room full of army soldiers being briefed by the commander, including Septimus, where he shoots and kills the commander before getting shot by another soldier.
Septimus represents those who didn’t have the privilege to be sheltered from the war like Clarissa and her friends, and instead suffers from post traumatic stress disorder and depression. His distant behavior begins to change after he and his wife return home from Clarissa’s home – he becomes more playful with Aisha, almost happy, not wanting to let her go. Later that night, as the party is commencing, Aisha leaves her and Septimus’s house to head to the mosque for evening prayer. A few seconds after she leaves, Septimus gets up from his seat and gazes at a razor he used earlier that day to scrape his fingernails. He grabs it with intense interest, as if the razor has some sort of sentimental meaning to him. After a quick beat, he swiftly slices his neck open with the razor.
The last shot of the film has Okonedo dancing to a popular pop song from the 70s called Happy Day by Sir Victor Uwaifo, with twinkling garden lights in the background. It’s a splendid shot – she looks happy, at peace. When Septimus kills himself he is shown smiling towards the camera, finally free from the mental struggles that secretly plagued him all those years fighting as a soldier. Though Nigeria is now free from British colonial rule, it still suffers from systemic issues that impact everyday Nigerian life.
Accompanied with dreamy music by singer and cellist Kelsey Lu, Clarissa is a bittersweet story about the pleasures of youth and intimate friendships fading into nostalgia and memories tainted by war. Clarissa leaves us with the realization that though the five friends are somewhat imprisoned by personal regrets and hidden desires, freedom is more accessible for the wealthy and privileged.
