“Over The Bridge”: Tolu Ajayi’s Corporate Drama is Grounded in Unified Vision

Great stories aren’t the sole building block of great films. Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window, Billy Wilder’s The Apartment, Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream, Boon Joon Ho’s Parasite, Celine Song’s Past Lives, Ema Edosio-Deelen’s Kasala!, Damilola Orimogunje’s For Maria Ebun Pataki and a host of others aren’t great films because they tell great stories, what constitutes a “great” story is subjective. What makes these films great isn’t because the directors spotlight complex and morally bankrupt characters, or heavily political. Cinema history is populated with bad films with these story arcs. What makes the aforementioned films great is how unified the directors’ visions are replicated across the filmmaking departments. In these films, the directors’ visions get replicated from writing, casting, acting, production design, cinematography, lighting to art direction. And it’s that unified vision that makes Tolu Ajayi’s Over The Bridge, which will be having its Francophone premiere courtesy of Screen Connect, a Pan-African distribution company, a great film. 

Written by Tosin Otudeko, Over The Bridge slowly paces around the story of Folarin Marino (Ozzy Agu), the leading face and figure at Exegis Capital Management Company. Tasked with managing the building of a bridge, Folarin is conflicted about his place at Exegis Capital due to the company’s questionable practices. Leading this corrupt practice is the subtly controlling Michael (Paul Adams), Folarin’s boss, and Chief Agoro (Akin Lewis), an influential politician who Folarin has hitherto reluctantly learnt to answer to. Dancing to Folarin’s drum is Kelvin (Chemezie Imo), an analyst fiercely loyal to Folarin. Having willfully erased a substantial amount of money from the company’s account courtesy of Michael and Chief Agoro, the project is stalling and Folarin and Kelvin are tasked with playing cover up. An activity that will come with dire consequences. As the bridge construction stalls, receiving the brunt of this delay are the people of Agboyin represented in Folarin’s subconsciousness by Baale (Toyin Oshinaike). Chased out of their homes, the Agboyin people are scattered across the city with no settlement space provided by the construction company nor government. While these external conflicts are ongoing, an unsettling presence has settled into Folarin and Jumke (Segilola Ogidan), his wife, relationship. 

Over The Bridge is an extremely beautiful film to look at thanks to KC Obiajulu’s camera work. The beautifully shot scenery of the film doesn’t douse down its storytelling potential as Obiajulu’s cinematography acted as a visual communication tool. What’s stunning about the film’s cinematography is that it fittingly carries the story and characters’ dynamics and thoughts.  The expansive shot reminds us of the rift between Folarin and Jumoke. Different shots also act as a clue to how alone Folarin is, in dealing with the internal and external conflicts he’s plagued with. Art director, Abisola Omolade, uses paintings to register Folarin’s interest in the Agboyin riverine community. Although they mostly live in his subconsciousness, these paintings which feature river bodies and emphasize the importance of rivers as a lifeline, in his office and room, nudge viewers’ attention to the riverine Agboyin community. 

Otudeke’s script presents Folarin as an innocent but complicit individual. In the film, he moves with the reluctant but subtle yet powerful gait of one aware of the consequences of his actions. On the surface, he appears unaware of the consequences of Michael and Chief Agoro’s corrupt acts.  But in his subconsciousness, as dialogue with Baale shows, he’s deeply aware of these consequences. He isn’t just keen on taking actions. Thus, his actions and inactions make him a party to the crime. 

Across Nigeria, there are an inexhaustible number of uncompleted projects. Governments after governments begin and fail to conclude projects they started. And, at the receiving end of these incomplete projects are the average Nigerians who have to use these uncompleted hospitals, schools, roads, bridges and other social amenities in their daily lives. Ajayi’s film places this societal issue into contention while asking us to sit, observe and draw conclusions. The film is, to a certain degree, reminiscent of the Agbajowo Collective’s The Legend of the Vagabond Queen of Lagos which fictionalizes the daily realities of Nigerians who are ostracized out of their homes  to give way for the city’s “innovation and advancement.”  What both films contest is how this supposed advancement doesn’t factor in settlement options for these now-made-homeless Nigerians. 

There’s a striking familiarity and assuredness that Ajayi brings into the directing of this film. That assuredness, replicated across the board, is what makes the film great. Actors move with the aura of performers aware of the scale of their responsibilities. Paintings are used as communication cues. As the film prepares for its Francophone release, Nigerian audiences can only hope to watch the film any time soon as the film will start showing in Kenyan cinema from on the 6th of June,  2025.