On a long stretch of road in Zambia during the dark of night, Shula (Susan Chardy) is driving home from a fancy-dress party hosted by one of her friends. While cruising along, our protagonist notices a man lying in the middle of the street who is unresponsive. Upon taking a closer look at his face, he's no stranger at all. It’s Shula’s uncle, Fred, and he’s dead. Instead of viewers witnessing a strong emotional reaction from Shula after discovering her deceased family member, that moment never comes. Instead, Shula calmly sits in her car and telephones her father to deliver the devastating news. As director Rungano Nyoni's On Becoming a Guinea Fowl unfolds, many of Shula’s women cousins don’t seem particularly upset, either. Was Fred a bad man? Did he do something terrible to these ladies that they’ve repressed for many years?
As the story progresses, all these questions are slowly uncovered, and we learn just how dreadful Fred was as a person. Perhaps the most devastating part of the equation is that his inappropriate behavior has been normalized for years. Many family members were aware of his unforgivable actions, yet they chose to ignore them. Due to this, overtime, the women in the family who were sexually abused by their late uncle started to believe that this behavior was ordinary. Even the adults did nothing about it.
On Becoming a Guinea Fowl is a harrowing watch but a film that is profound and impactful. Instead of the women in the family being protected from their uncle, his predatory behavior was swept under the rug. In this sexist environment, and with multiple women within the family being exposed to such cultural norms, many of the survivors have kept silent for years. Others even make lighthearted jokes about their terrifying experiences, since they don’t know any differently. It’s a gut punch to watch, knowing that this abusive man never had to take accountability for the trauma he caused these women and how he’s seen as a role model by some of the relatives. When Shula arranges Fred's eulogy, she tells a funeral arrangement staff member what a great man he was. Of course, this praise is all a lie. Through her facial expressions, viewers can see the internal frustration she’s experiencing as she paints this wonderful picture of her deceased uncle that’s far from the truth.
At the center of this story is Shula, who is obviously quite well-traveled and has been exposed to different cultural and geographical settings, equipped with a strong British accent when speaking English. As Shula starts to unravel the distressing details of her cousins’ experiences and what they went through, you can see how angry and hurt she is. Shula is caught between speaking up for what’s right and navigating the challenges of her family’s unwavering outlook on life that she has no control over.
Chardy does an outstanding job portraying Shula and carries the film from start to finish. This is no easy feat, given the film’s hard-hitting themes and the character's internal turmoil, yet she balances discreet anger and frustration effortlessly through a more subdued, powerful performance. The supporting cast is equally good. Different characters in the story reflect how different survivors of abuse process and deal with their trauma. Some keep quiet due to fear, or feelings of shame, while others have concerns over the consequences of speaking out.
After On Becoming a Guinea Fowl concluded, I was curious to research their behavior. They are described as social birds who are noisy and quick to defend themselves. This is particularly apparent in the film’s last scene, which very much reminded me of a line spoken by Rose in Titanic: “I feel like I'm standing in the middle of a crowded room, screaming, and no one even looks up." The irony is that these birds are loud, yet in On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, it appears that many of the women stay quiet. When they do speak up, nobody’s really listening.
While not everything in On Becoming a Guinea Fowl completely works, and at times, the storytelling can at times result in choppy pacing and jarring transitions, it’s still an incredibly compelling film. In this story, the survivors of sexual abuse are reluctant to speak up due to the normalization of it by those surrounding them, who are more concerned with protecting the perpetrator’s legacy. It’s devastating to witness and, sadly, something that continues to happen in our world all too often.
4/5