In Charlotte Mew’s 1912 poem “The Farmer’s Bride,” a farmer muses over his marriage to a much younger maiden who is clearly unhappy with her assigned role as a wife and terrified of him. He is unable to really understand her, even as he relates to her fear. In the poem, one can find the inspiration for Film One Studios’ latest original, The Farmer’s Bride, which depicts a young maiden, Funmi (Gbubemi Ejeye), with dreams of furthering her education, falling in love, and making something of her life who is married off to Odun (Femi Branch), a rich and aging farmer from a neighbouring village, in exchange for a few plots of land. 

However, unlike Charlotte’s Mew’s timid maiden, Funmi does not succumb to fear and lets everyone, including her husband, know of her objection and displeasure with being forced into an unwilling marriage. Like the farmer in Mew’s poem who chases his young bride across fields to bring her back, Odun makes several efforts to transform the union into an affectionate one, but it’s futile; he is just too old for her. 

In comes Femi (Tobi Bakre), Odun’s handsome nephew, a university student from the city. Femi’s attractive looks are too much to resist, and he is also unable to take his eyes off Funmi. An intense visceral attraction develops between them, and it’s not long before they inevitably begin to quench each other’s thirst. 

Funmi soon becomes pregnant; their escapades have been happening at the expense of Funmi’s conjugal duties to Odun, and the village deity is adept at conducting paternity tests. At this point, the illicit lovers are in a bind. Funmi resorts to manipulation and devises a drastic scheme, even though this behaviour is inconsistent with her character. Her actions portray her as an impulsive character rather than a scheming one, as there is very little that makes it believable for this change in character.

Naturally, Femi is totally opposed to the idea; their relationship is more visceral than affectionate, at least from Femi’s side. It’s far-reaching that she would convince him to take such a devastating step against a loved one. But somehow, like Lady Macbeth, Funmi overrides her lover’s objections and persuades him otherwise. They quickly carry out their plan, but it is not without consequences. 

Co-directed by Jack’enneth Opukeme and Adebayo Tijani, King of Thieves (2022), there seems to be confusion in picking a language for the film; the constant switch between English and Yoruba confuses our understanding of the characters and prevents proper distinction, which consequently affects the acting of the lead characters.

Tobi Bakre takes a break from being the de facto gangster to show versatility by delivering a commendable performance; Gbubemi Ejeye embodies her character’s persona well with excellent mannerisms and expressions. Both actors could have had better performances if they had a better command of the Yoruba language they had to use extensively in the film. Efe Irele, Femi Branch, and Mercy Aigbe look more comfortable in their roles, switching without any difficulties. Despite it contradicting their characters in many instances, they still deliver good performances.

Written by Jack’enneth Opukeme (Adire), Farmer’s Bride is a tragic love story; it resembles a plot out of an European epic set in a countryside, filled with fascinating themes and details like romance, the metaphysical, power, jealousy, and even a poltergeist, all of which makes it an intriguing film. The film is set in some hinterland in the early post-independence era where they speak of a city like a faraway idea, and peculiarly, almost everyone is fluent in both Yoruba and English. While it is difficult to place the film in a specific period, the film is able to depict an almost utopic rural way of life by infusing cultural elements, set design, and cinematography that accentuates the storytelling and makes it pleasing to watch. 

Farmer’s Bride premiered at the cinemas on September 27.

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Side Musings

• Why is Femi always shirtless?
• The scarecrow looks like it would have some significance in the film, but it ends up meaning nothing.
• The language is too high for the period that is being depicted
• If the deity can determine a child’s paternity, it should easily be able to solve murder crimes too, right?
• This would have made a fine epic.
• That does not look like an aging farmer.