I haven't read the book and had to decide which to do first, watch the movie or read. I feel now like a child with a present I haven't yet opened. Having seen a few youtube videos of Ms Adiche speaking I was intrigued to know more about her and when I found this film was available online I jumped at it.
Other reviewers have covered most of the aspects of the movie as history and as it relates to the book, but having only heard Ms. Adiche speak about writing it and what she was trying to convey, mainly the humanity extant in all of us, I must say the movie moved me. I do not think Thandie Newton overacted or that her performance was flat, to me it had a kind of authenticity of blind devotion that impelled her character to somehow go with the flow even when life became impossible.
This film also highlighted a reality that many of us grew up with in the daily news bulletins of our childhood and it is a tragedy that so much suffering has so easily been forgotten. I recommend this movie without reservation, the action moves quickly and if there is any criticism at all it is that some scenes lack connective tissue and I suspect one of the reviewers is spot on when they said that the book should have been made in to a TV series.
Review of Half of a Yellow Sun
