The movie that could’ve been (spoilers)

1. I agree. There were some hints dropped here and there (Rose having some special needs, Amy being the one in the couple bringing the money and working hard, Adam having affairs with a soft spot for "exotic" women,...) but nothing was really explored or explained.

2. If she had told her, she would have stopped sending money. Her cousin's mother seemed to be sick, and she also wanted to go to America. My guess is that Mariatou used the money Aisha was sending for herself, her mother and her flight ticket.

3. Not sure if he was contacting her or she just "felt" what happened to him, all the visions/dreams she has being related to his drowning. Then there is the figure of Mami Wata, the mermaid. As Malik's grandmother tells Aisha, Mami Wata "lures sexuality, money and promises of fertility", three themes that are present in the movie (Malik, the salary as nanny and the "gift" of pregnancy at the end of the movie). Anansi the spider also seems to play a role in the story, both creatures "challenge the dominant order, subverting it through chaos, anarchy, creative energy. They refuse to be ruled by the human or the divine". Aisha asks "I wish I knew what they wanted from me", and Malik's grandmother replies "You should be asking what they want for you", implying that they might be helping her acknowledge and overcome the death of Lamine, Mami Wata even saving her when she tries to drown in the river. Anansi's actions and parables often carry him as protagonist due to his ability to transform his apparent weaknesses into virtues, in the end Aisha is able to overcome the death of Lamine and seems to be (somewhat) happy with Malik, Bishop, the grandma and their new son. He lost Lamine, but instead of succumbing to that tragedy (her weakness) she is able to find love in Malik and their new son (virtues).