Taiwo Egunjobi’s third feature film,  A Green Fever, stretches his oeuvre of small to medium-sized cast films set in sleepy towns or small locations, featuring various noir-inspired characters. In this submission, Egunjobi plays with a haunting, deceptive intimacy among several dishonest characters, leading the viewer to question, at first, what the truth is, and who exactly can be trusted. A Green Fever shows early that none of the characters are reliable, and the question switches midway into the film: what exactly is the truth?

Alongside Taiwo Egunjobi are his long-term creative partners, Isaac Ayodeji, who has served as screenwriter on Taiwo Egunjobi’s previous projects, and Temilolu Fosudo, a proficient actor. Temilolu Fosudo plays Kunmi Braithwaite, an architect whose daughter has fallen ill with green fever and who has come upon Colonel Bashiru’s (William Benson) house in a secluded location. Things take dark turns as the night unravels, and we realise nobody is exactly who they claim to be.

A Green Fever sets its unnerving tone early. From the onset, a haunting score pervades the film. Underneath it is the announcement of civil unrest nationwide. It ramps the tension throughout the film, causing the viewer to wonder what will happen and when exactly. There is also a claustrophobic sense to the cinematography; for most of it, the characters are framed in medium, and save for the establishing shots, we do not constantly get any real sense of space. With the score, this is a potent recipe for nail biting. We are constantly reminded by the radio that it is not safe outside the house, but there is no real sense of safety within the house as well. 

As the plot progresses, and we find that Colonel Bashiru is deep in an ongoing coup plot, we understand why the house is unsafe and wonder if Kunmi has taken a dangerous misstep with his daughter. But again, something still feels off. Kunmi is not who he claims to be. And neither is the Colonel’s mistress, Matilda (Ruby Precious Okezie). She has dreams of being a music star, and our protagonist, the architect, promises to help her achieve them. But it appears she must do something for him to help her.

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A Green Fever’s strength is two-fold: In the points of revelations where we learn the truth about characters and in how genuinely those characters have presented themselves in respect to said truths. While we eventually believe the truths surrounding Kunmi, Colonel Bashiru’s character leaves some bitter aftertaste. He sets out as the tallest man in the room, always in control, and, in spite of the unnerving events of the night, his devolution into bad decisions and hysterics is unbelievable. 

The character does break down, but there is no convincing progression depicting that. The events of the night within the house are incredible, but not so much that they overwhelm a colonel who has, one presumes, seen a civil war, and is in the middle of a coup. One moment, he is confident enough to intimidate Kunmi and double-cross his fellow coup plotters, and the next, he is hysterical and reveals information he shouldn’t.

The actors’ performances are effectively delivered, but there are some nagging questions. The choices some of the characters make negate their buildup. How did Kunmi trust his conning on Matilda so confidently, however naive or stupid she might have appeared, that she’d bring the suitcase and not the colonel to him? How does a colonel in the middle of a coup have a security detail of two soldiers? The third act feels this way, a couple of scripting decisions that could have taken better turns.

There are various things to love here. The film’s score, as mentioned elsewhere, is quite good. And the cinematography is fit for purpose. Ireti’s Darasimi Nadi continues her pathway to stardom. There is real visual control by the director.  And perhaps it is easy to attempt such questioning conjectures, especially with a film that does its best to unravel what is true and isn’t. But this truth is incontestable: There really is an incomplete sense with A Green Fever, and it is not the open-ended closer.

A Green Fever premiered on Prime Video on February Surprise.

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Side Musings

• They beat Mr. Chinaza (Nwachukwu Martin) real good. 
• I quite enjoyed Darasimi Nadi’s character. Leaves you questioning how much of the con she knew.
• Green fever is an actual sickness.
• The screenwriter and lead actor answer some burning questions in this interview.