By Buchiwrites

Big Fish, the cinephilic English director Peter Strickland has made his third — and perhaps best — film to playfully riff on genre conventions. What begins as a bloodless tale of mistress and maid blossoms into a poignant, cyclical exploration of a couple’s inability.

Lotanna, a wealthy and proud Igbo businessman, finds himself stranded on the roadside when his luxury car breaks down. A kindhearted young woman, Oluchi, offers to help him get a mechanic, sparking an unexpected connection between them. Their relationship blossoms, but Oluchi’s overprotective and dramatic brother, Izuchukwu, is a major obstacle.
Izuchukwu, a comical but fiercely protective carpenter, is initially against their relationship, especially after discovering that Lotanna is the same man he once scammed by pretending to be a mechanic. However, when he learns of Lotanna’s wealth, he decides to play along, seeing him as their “big fish” and a potential financial opportunity. There is a secret and a mission that no one knows about, but lotanna is unto something.

Lotanna and Oluchi’s romance takes a turn when she becomes pregnant. While Lotanna is excited about the baby, Izuchukwu refuses to let him take responsibility unless he marries
Oluchi. However, the shocking truth is revealed when Lotanna’s food-addict personal assistant, Ebuka, unintentionally spills that his boss is already married. Devastated, Oluchi feels betrayed, and Izuchukwu bans Lotanna from ever seeing his child.

Determined to make amends, Lotanna promises to send Oluchi to school and provides financial support to set up a business for her and her brother. Just as tensions begin to ease, tragedy strikes, Oluchi loses the child during birth. Heartbroken, Lotanna struggles with the loss, and his wife, Rose, who has suffered multiple miscarriages, is broken. We realize that Lotanna’s mission all along has been to get a child from Oluchi for him and his wife as they have been married for years without a child.

A few people encourages Lotanna to see a different path to fatherhood but to him, as a traditional ibo man, using a machine to make a baby shows you are less of a man. In the end, Lotanna comes to terms with the fact that surrogacy does not make him less of a man. Together, he and Rose decide to have their own child through surrogacy, embracing a new beginning and still fulfilling all the promises he once made to Oluchi and her brother after a heart felt apology.

What started with chaos and humor ends in peace, results and humor.