Watching Finding Me is like walking into a house with too many rooms, each painted a different colour. The film aims to be many things at once—a story of love, self-realisation, liberation, and even a dash of comedy and action. Yet, amid these shifting tones, it loses sight of its core purpose.

Released on Prime Video, and fronted by big names like Funke Akindele, Joseph Benjamin, Efa Iwara, and many others (very literally), Finding Me positions itself as a tale of self-discovery. Yet, as the plot thickens—or more accurately, unravels—you cannot help but question who’s discovering what, and why it’s all unfolding in such a scattered manner. SPOILER ALERT!

When Too Much Happens, Nothing Lands

The film’s premise should have been promising. Atinuke Phillips (Funke Akindele) is trapped in a stifling marriage with Kola Phillips (Joseph Benjamin), a man who is manipulative, deceitful, and emotionally distant. This setup has all the ingredients for an incisive exploration of emotional manipulation, power imbalances, and societal pressures. Instead, the film becomes burdened by underdeveloped subplots, abrupt tonal shifts, and half-baked resolutions.

One minute we’re dealing with infidelity and family disputes, the next, we are plunged into random comedy routines, to unnecessary fights. Atinuke’s relationship with Anthony (Efa Iwara) is the clearest example of this mess. Their romance appears from nowhere, without any real emotional build-up. There’s a scene right in the middle—Anthony touches Atinuke’s face and says, “Do you trust me?”—and it lands with such jarring emptiness, it makes you pause and wonder, “How did we even get here?”

Finding Me had so many things that were right there to be developed, but somehow it leaves each plot point unfinished leaving one to wonder what they’ve successfully absorbed after almost 2 hours 30 minutes of screen time.

The final third is a tale of chaos and convenience, the filmmakers employ many and any plot device to try to save the film but to on avail.

At the end of the film, there is not much disparity between our hero and villain, turns out the Tinuke is just as guilty as some of the crimes associated with her husband. Stealing (from Olowo Steels), negligence (her son), cheating and fraud (she tries to pin a pregnancy on her husband). Both characters are decadent making it quite difficult to root for our hero.

Where’s the Real Conflict?

If Finding Me is supposed to be about self-discovery, you’d expect to feel the weight of both Tinuke’s internal struggles and the external pressures that make her journey necessary. But oddly enough, those stakes barely register. Tinuke seems bothered only by her husband’s constant belittling, yet beyond that, the film doesn’t show us the world closing in on her. Where are the societal expectations? Where’s the shame or the insecurity that’s supposed to push her to the gym, to reassess herself, to take charge? We don’t really see it. Why did she eventually need a man to “find herself”? (As a matter of fact, this part remains largely unexplored also in the plot)

Her best friend, Sarah (Omoni Oboli) who should ideally serve as her voice of reason or even a reflection of what Tinuke could aspire to, seems more put-together than Tinuke herself. Instead of helping us understand Tinuke’s external environment or support system, the friend’s presence raises more questions: Why hasn’t she helped her friend see herself differently all this time? Why does it feel like Tinuke is isolated, not by society, but simply because the plot says so? It leaves the audience disconnected from Tinuke’s supposed transformation. Her low self-esteem and lack of agency feel more like plot requirements than genuine, lived experiences, and that disconnect weakens the whole idea of self-discovery.

The Third Act That Does Too Much

By the time we reach the third act, the story becomes noticeably overloaded. The film introduces several big revelations and dramatic twists in quick succession, which makes the climax feel less like a natural resolution and more like a race to tie everything up at once.

In the space of a few scenes, Anthony is arrested. The long-trusted family doctor is exposed as a fraud, revealed to have colluded with Kola to deceive Tinuke about her fertility. Tinuke also admits to her best friend that her son, Denrele, was adopted, something she had kept hidden for years. Kola faces arrest for murder, while Anthony is suddenly framed with a dead body in his car boot. On top of that, Tinuke, despite having gathered evidence of Kola’s manipulation, openly confronts him and tells him where the evidence is, leading to an expected physical attack. Even her brother steps in, only to get caught up in the chaos.

It’s not that these plot points couldn’t work—they each carry weight on their own. But the issue is how tightly packed they are, giving the audience little breathing room to process each event. The emotional beats don’t land because there’s no pause to reflect. Instead of building tension gradually, the third act rushes through everything, making it harder to connect the dots or feel the full impact of Tinuke’s journey. The result is a finale that feels overwhelmed by its own ambition, leaving viewers more startled than satisfied.

Performances That Try to Save the Ship

Funke Akindele dials down her usual flair. She doesn’t give us her typical comic mannerisms, and that is refreshing. But unfortunately, the character she’s playing lacks enough internal consistency to allow her performance to breathe naturally. Atinuke’s decisions, oscillating between feeling trapped and briefly liberated, are not given the time to develop naturally, leaving her journey feeling superficial. She makes silly decisions, her character remains static; she doesn’t develop as her character journey morphs from trapped to liberated and back to trapped. Her character ends up appearing unwise from the beginning to the end as she doesn’t “find herself”, doesn’t grow genuinely as the situations around her only force her to accept what comes to her.

Efa Iwara does well within the confines of what he’s given. His performance is sincere, his presence solid. But again, there’s no space for his character to develop meaningfully. Their chemistry is rushed, transactional, more plot device than believable relationship.

Joseph Benjamin puts in a convincing performance as Kola the bloke, while Dele Odule, Shaffy Bello, Femi Adebayo, Omowunmi Dada, Emeka Nwagbaraocha, Stephanie ‘Calabar Chic’ Faith Isuma, put up palpable performances.

Then there’s Semiu (Abdulgafar Abiola ‘Cute Abiola’), slotted in as comic relief. Normally, this kind of character might derail the seriousness, but surprisingly, his role is one of the better-executed aspects, serving as a bridge between the chaotic tones and one of the films few convincing plot devices.

Technically Sound, Emotionally Hollow

The look and feel does not go will the genre, creating a sharp contrast. The props employed during the big fight between Kola and appeared like they were only there to be damage. The editing is however ocassionally deliberate—there’s a moment where Anthony encourages Atinuke to say “I am beautiful”, and the soundtrack subtly echoes it in the background. It’s clever, it works. But such moments are rare islands in an ocean of tonal whiplash.

The film fails to carefully use music to elevate the emotional moments in the film. After dragging the viewer through emotional betrayal, trauma, false identities, and a supposed journey of finding oneself, it cuts to a celebratory, jumpy theme song that completely erases the emotional weight of the final scenes. There’s no chance to sit with the discomfort, no breathing room to reflect. It’s as if the film itself is eager to distract you from what it has just shown.

Final Thoughts

Finding Me had all the ingredients to be a layered story about self-worth, control, and breaking free. Instead, it gets caught up trying to do too much at once—blending old Nollywood stereotypes, clumsy plot twists, misplaced comedy, and rushed character arcs. What could have been a clear, sharp film about a woman’s journey ends up muddled, with no single message standing tall.

Other than the striking absence of catharsis, the biggest flaw in Finding Me is that our hero does not seem to find herself. All it takes is for Anthony to start behaving like Kola and then the cycle repeats.

Verdict

If you’re looking for something coherent and emotionally grounded, Finding Me might not offer what you’re after. It is a film with moments of brilliance buried under a mountain of narrative noise. It entertains, but only if you do not think too hard.

Rating: 2.2/5