Mother of George

Danai Gurira—who plays the warrior-like Michonne on television's The Walking Dead—is the star of this visually stylish drama set within a Nigerian community in New York City. Gurira plays the sympathetic Adenike, a new bride who can't conceive a child with her husband, Ayodele (Isaach De Bankolé). Shamed and criticized by the latter's mother, Adenike visits a specialist and for the first time raises the possibility with Ayodele that he might be the one who is infertile. Ayodele is outraged by the suggestion, and his interfering mother pressures her daughter-in-law—astonishingly—to have sex with her husband's brother. The aftermath of that fateful decision threatens to destroy the fabric of this tight-knit community of family and friends, as well as push Adenike to the margins, with nowhere to go. This taut drama, directed by Andrew Dosunmu, might tell a stark story, but it is a visually lavish affair of exotic colors and textures. Gurira shines in the lead, delivering a sensitive and complex performance using very few words. Highly recommended. (T. Keogh)