Movie Title: My Baby Doll
English language
Duration: 1 hour 48 minutes
Release date: 2024
Streaming platform: Youtube
Producer: Ini Edo, Arsenal Bruno
Director: Akin Tijanni Balogun
Article page with promotion of financial support
Cast: Ini Edo, Patience Ozokwo, IK Ogbonna, Rosemary Afuwape, Ogbonna Blessing, Sotex Soberekon, Ashanike Aliya, Elizabeth Obinani, Edna Ejechie, Nwachi Anita Onyinyechi and Ojukwu Somtochukwu.
The journey to motherhood can be a difficult and exhausting time for women who have had multiple miscarriages, stillbirths, or are unable to conceive. The presence of a supportive husband or family member can help a woman through the waiting phase.
Losing a child is an experience that involves a lot of pain and trauma. Every woman experiences grief differently and no woman should be compared to another.
Ini Edo’s film “My Baby Doll” vividly portrays the profound challenges, heartbreaking hardships and deep emotional trauma that many women endure in their quest to conceive and carry a pregnancy to term. The film sheds light on the often ignored pain of miscarriage and the heartbreak of losing a child, illustrating how crucial it is for people to show support and also the importance of therapy.
Churchill frustrated
The film is about a woman who has had several miscarriages and a stillborn baby and is grieving in a way that seems abnormal to people. When she finally opens up about her miscarriages and goes to therapy, she finally overcomes her depression.
PLOT
The film begins with Linda preparing a room for the arrival of her doll. The doll arrives and she is excited to have the privilege of having a daughter, but her husband is upset and does not accept the idea of calling a doll a daughter. Linda invites her friend and her mother-in-law to the christening ceremony of her doll.
Excited by the fact that Linda now has a baby, they are puzzled by the appearance of a doll instead of a real baby. However, Linda's mother-in-law quickly understood what was happening and supported her. She behaves well towards Linda and her supposed granddaughter Precious so that her daughter-in-law feels comfortable. Churchill, Linda's husband, is losing his mind due to his wife's current behavior. He feels that she is going crazy and threatens to get a second wife who will not go crazy in the near future.
Linda invites her mother-in-law to name her doll
Linda displays all the hallmarks of a first-time mother, panicking and worried because her baby has a fever. Her mother-in-law assures her that there is nothing wrong with the baby's health and that she feels this way because she is a first-time mother. Churchill feels that the two women in his life are going crazy when he sees the mother combing Precious' hair.
Vaccination day arrives and Linda wants to take her son to the hospital, but Churchill refuses. Her mother-in-law takes them to the hospital, however, but they are not allowed to see the doctor because the baby is a doll. The fact that she refers to her baby as a doll breaks her so much that she again rejects her husband's advances in the evening, claiming that he is inconsiderate towards her.
Upset that his mother took Linda to the hospital to get vaccinated, he confronts her and tells her to respect his role as the man of the house. The next day, his mother packs her things and leaves the house to avoid having problems with her son. Linda is sad and devastated that the only person who supports her is leaving the house.
Linda returns to the hospital for Precious' vaccination; this time, she causes a ruckus and is tied up while the hospital calls her husband. Frustrated, he takes out his anger on her and says hurtful words about her eight miscarriages.
Shortly after the incident, Churchill's mother tells him that she too suffered her share of depression after three miscarriages, but in her case, her husband, Churchill's father, was supportive. He recommends a therapy group for Linda and encourages his son to support his wife, who is going through a lot.
From that moment on, Churchill began trying to be an understanding husband and father. Therapy has a positive impact on Linda and many other women going through the same trauma and pain.
Character analysis
The film features talented actors like Patience Ozokwor, Ini Edo and Ik Ogbonna, who give their best as always.
Ini Edo plays Linda, a woman traumatized by the loss of her children through miscarriages, stillbirths, and deaths. She played her roles effortlessly, conveying a surge of emotions. Her performance brings depth to the film, making Linda’s pain relatable to the audience.
Churchill accepts the doll to help Linda heal
Patience Ozokwor plays Linda’s mother-in-law. The typical Ozokwor, who appears evil in most of her films, takes on a different role in this film as she helps Linda through this difficult phase. One would expect her to kick Linda out of the house or encourage her son to get a new wife, but she didn’t. Instead, she shows a sweet side of her, giving the audience hope that there are good mothers-in-law out there. Her performance is, as expected, nothing short of perfect and original.
IK Ogbonna, as Churchill, plays the role of a husband who fails to fully understand his wife’s pain and believes the only solution is to scold her or even marry someone else. He plays a man who struggles to understand how losing his children can affect a woman’s mental health. His frustration is also understandable as he is struggling but wants to restore peace in his home.
He is impatient and doesn't seem to understand what women go through when they are expecting to have children. Most men only care about themselves. Despite the pain his wife is feeling, he wants to have sex with her without sympathizing with her.
However, he later understands the pain his wife is going through when his mother tells him that she was also depressed after having several miscarriages, but that her father supported her. Churchill also lost her babies and is grieving, but is handling the pain differently.
Analysis of the film
The film My Baby Doll is another piece that showcases Edo’s creativity. It makes the audience connect with the pain of women trying to conceive. This film, besides exploring the emotional trauma caused by childlessness, touches on themes such as love, patience, and the importance of a community.
Some scenes and statements evoke strong meaning and interpretation. In the scene where her doll arrives, she says, “I hope she loves me.” Critically analyzed, this statement could mean, “I hope this girl loves me enough to stay with me,” in other words, “I hope she doesn’t leave me, too.”
The film serves as a therapeutic balm for mothers trying to conceive or for women who have suffered miscarriages or the loss of a child and feel depressed and hopeless. Watching this film will bring healing and relief to many women and couples who find solace in its narrative.
Churchill and Linda as a team
The film is quite unpredictable and has a lot to learn from it. At times, one can anticipate specific outcomes (such as the protagonist committing suicide or ending up conceiving and having a child), but the film defies these expectations. It sticks to realism from beginning to end. Ozokwor's presence in this film contributes to fooling people into thinking that there is something more behind Mom's kindness towards her daughter-in-law, which is a plus.
Edo explores the use of flashbacks to enhance the film's narrative and shed light on the cause of Linda's trauma.
The attention to detail is evident in this film. Linda carefully positions her baby to sleep, using two pillows to prevent him from falling out of bed. They also constantly change the quilt, duvet and hairstyles, a level of detail often lacking in Nollywood productions.
The cinematography, lighting and camera angle are good, but nothing more.
The plot, though a bit unrealistic as no Nigerian would dare to display a doll for not having children, sheds light on the mental health of women who are trying to conceive or who have suffered the loss of one or more children. Despite being a low-budget film, it is exciting and different from the usual and standard pattern of stories on YouTube – Edo, which maximises resources to create a film that serves as therapy for women who need to heal.
'My Baby Doll' is streaming on YouTube
Verdict
6/10