Director Tolu Ajayi, in his feature debut, is reasonably detailed about these corporate machinations, leaning on the societal pressure for illegal kickbacks that undermines the country’s progress and people’s personal integrity. But this granularity coexists awkwardly with a familiar strain of Nollywood melodrama, with Folarin’s assistant Kevin (Chimezie Imo) becoming collateral damage in the restructuring, then Folarin himself going awol and reappearing with amnesia in a coastal village, like a runaway in a 19th-century potboiler.
Luckily, Agu grounds Folarin with a shrewdly withdrawn performance, his face sweating out anxiety. And despite the film’s histrionic brushstrokes, Ajayi is intricate and intelligent with his editing choices, often intercutting scenes to accentuate Folarin’s disintegration, and letterboxing the aspect ratio to give a sense of unreality to the seaside portion. Rejuvenation in a rural setting is a universal theme, while the supernatural undertow of life outside the big city is a Nollywood one. But here Ajayi uses the cliche to suggest the moral imperative that should guide urbanites offering progress to the hinterland. His conscientious take is a breath of fresh air.