Directed by Adebayo-Esho Adenike and produced by Bolaji Ogunmola, Summer Rain stands as a heartfelt attempt to explore the weight of love interrupted, buried pain, and the complex beauty of second chances.
At the centre of Summer Rain is a love story that began with fire but was quickly smothered by misunderstanding, miscommunication, and unspoken wounds. Mure and Dim were once inseparable, friends who turned into lovers, but life happened. They parted ways in pain and confusion.
Plot
The film opens with a flashback that immediately sets the emotional tone: Mure and Dim in the heat of an argument. Dim, wounded by Mure’s silence, walks out and disappears. Her tears, which she refuses to explain, make him believe she’s betrayed him. It’s messy, unresolved, and all too real. Mure and Dim were initially best friends, deeply in love but financially constrained. Mure’s roommate at the time introduced her to Tofe, a man with more money and more options but also more arrogance. Under pressure and perhaps wanting stability, Mure started dating Tofe.
Fast-forward to the present day. Mure is now a composed, established professional with a demanding career and a ten-year-old daughter. She’s made a life for herself, one that appears whole on the surface. But fate has a twisted sense of humour. While exiting a hotel one day, Mure runs into a ghost from her past, Dim. It’s a shock to both of them. The kind of shock that leaves you breathless but also strangely still. No words are exchanged, just the undeniable sting of old feelings resurfacing.
Dim tries to find her after that brief encounter, but hotel policies keep him from getting her details. It seems like another near miss, but destiny is insistent. Mure is later contracted by a major company to oversee a new architectural project, and guess who her project partner turns out to be? Dim. This time, they are forced to confront not just each other, but the weight of everything left unsaid.
Their supposed “professional interaction” is layered with tension, and as the film progresses, flashbacks take us deeper into their past. However, in the present, Mure’s daughter falls ill and is diagnosed with thalassemia. As fate would have it, Dim’s matches her blood type. A DNA test later confirms the unthinkable: he’s her father. The truth shatters him, out of anger and heartbreak for the lost years.
The story plunges into a pivotal flashback. Dim returns unexpectedly from school and walks in on Mure with Tofe. Although there was no sexual intimacy between them, the sight alone cuts deep as Dim feels blindsided. Tofe, arrogant and condescending, attempts to assert dominance. Mure quickly asks Tofe to leave, but by then, the emotional damage is already done.
That night, Mure and Dean, still bound by unresolved love, end up sleeping together. But by morning, Dean is overwhelmed by confusion and pain. The knowledge that Mure had a boyfriend eats at him. Feeling betrayed, he leaves again, this time with a heavy heart and silent resentment.
Soon after, things take a dark turn. Tofe, furious that Mure had ignored his calls and suspecting she had been with Dim, confronts her. In a violent display of control and rage, he sexually assaults her. It’s a brutal, heartbreaking twist that shifts everything. From that moment, Mure believes her child is Tofe’s because she and Dean had used protection, and the trauma blurred the lines of certainty. Years pass under this false belief.
Back in the present, when the truth comes out through a paternity test, Dim is shattered. He had spent a decade resenting Mure, unaware of the horror she endured. And Mure, finally faced with the reality that her daughter was Dim’s all along, must confront a truth she never imagined: that her child was born not from violence, but from love.
From this moment on, something shifts. Dim begins to bond with his daughter. Mure begins to soften again. They don’t just fall back into love; they rebuild it, slowly, carefully, and with layers of vulnerability. But pain still lingers. On a date, Dean introduces Mure as “just a friend”. That label, coming from someone she once loved, cuts deep. It causes yet another rift between them.
Then comes the final reveal. A mysterious envelope arrives at Mure’s house. Inside are old photos of Dim. They are addressed to her mother. When she confronts her, the truth pours out: Dim had been in touch all along. When he found out Mure was pregnant (even believing the child wasn’t his), he made arrangements to send money, support her, and even planned for all three of them to relocate abroad. But Mure’s mother refused. She didn’t want to be left alone, and so, she buried the truth, and with it, Mure’s future.
This revelation tears Mure apart. She feels betrayed all over again by the one person she trusted most. But the beauty of Summer Rain lies in its emotional maturity. Mure doesn’t stay angry. She forgives. She confronts her past, accepts the new reality, and finally allows herself to believe in the love that never truly died.
Dean proposes. Not out of guilt, not out of obligation, but with full awareness of everything they’ve endured. Mure accepts.
Cast
Daniel Etim Effiong, who plays Dim, truly shines in this role. Romantic dramas seem to be his sweet spot, and his portrayal here is both vulnerable and compelling. Bolaji Ogunmola, playing the role of Mure, delivers a performance filled with emotional depth and quiet strength. Together, their on-screen chemistry is undeniable, so palpable that it became a talking point among viewers.
Genoveva Umeh, cast as the younger version of Mure, deserves special mention. Her attention to detail in mirroring Bolaji’s mannerisms gave the flashback scenes a strong sense of continuity. Though the resemblance wasn’t perfect, her performance made the connection believable.
Other notable cast members contributed solid performances, including Kayode Ojuolape, Femi Branch, Tina Mba, Lateef Adedimeji, Darasimi Nadi and Kanaga Emmanuel.
Language
The language of the film is primarily English, with a tasteful sprinkling of Yoruba that adds cultural flavour and authenticity.
Final take
Summer Rain excels in several technical aspects that elevate its overall viewing experience. The picture quality is sharp and cinematic, offering a clean and aesthetically pleasing visual tone throughout the film. The sound design stands out as one of the strongest elements; the background scores are well-placed, emotionally resonant, and beautifully complement each scene. The music, in particular, enhances the mood, creating an immersive atmosphere that guides the audience through the highs and lows of the story.
Costume choices were thoughtfully done, reflecting both the timeline shifts and the personalities of the characters. While the actors portraying the younger and older versions of the characters didn’t have a striking physical resemblance, their shared mannerisms bridged that gap effectively, making the transitions between timelines feel seamless and believable.
The story itself has the texture of an elevated YouTube drama: emotional, mushy, and mildly erotic. Though engaging and heartfelt, the plot lacks the kind of intensity or thrill that one might expect from a big-screen cinema release. It’s a story that sits comfortably in the “Sunday evening watch” category: relaxing, emotional, but not overly ambitious.
There was an expectation, especially from early plot cues, that the character of Tofe would make a return; his absence was notable. While some might appreciate the realism in not bringing a predator back into the frame, others may feel that his reappearance could have added emotional or narrative tension. Regardless, the film stays grounded, especially in its treatment of the fatherhood reveal, and the transitions between past and present were well-executed.
