From the stables of James Abinibi’s Rockbottom Studios comes Miss PJ, a film that ventures into this territory, promising a thrilling tale of corruption, heroism, and the fight for justice. The premise taps into the intrigue surrounding corps members navigating unfamiliar environments, setting the stage for a potentially captivating story.

There’s an undeniable allure to Nollywood stories centred on Nigeria’s National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme, a fascinating mix of drama, culture clash, and self-discovery. When such narratives delve into rural village settings, they often promise a gripping exploration of societal challenges through the lens of youth and ambition.

Story

Miss PJ explores themes of corruption, ambition, and sacrifice through the experiences of a youth corps member in a rural Yoruba village. The story attempts to juxtapose Miss PJ’s determination to protect her students against the village’s moral decay but struggles to achieve coherence.

Themes of heroism and societal rot are undermined by a lack of narrative depth, with over-reliance on expository dialogue and theatrical monologues instead of meaningful interactions or subtext.

Furthermore, the narrative technique is inconsistent, shifting between a first-person narrator and a third-person perspective that focuses on Miss PJ’s life in great detail. While we are introduced to the story through the voice of a narrator, the film itself unfolds from the perspective of Miss PJ, creating a disjointed and scattered narrative that fails to align with its chosen point of view. This inconsistency in storytelling diminishes the impact of the themes and weakens the overall cohesion of the narrative.

Plot

The plot centres on a young woman deployed to a rural village for her National Youth Service, where she uncovers a series of mysterious deaths among her students. Her investigation leads to the discovery of a conspiracy involving the school principal’s husband, who performs ritual sacrifices to become the village king, with his wife complicit in the acts.

Despite its intriguing premise, the plot is riddled with inconsistencies. While the film does a good job in misdirecting the audience to suspect the wrong people, key moments, such as the lack of scrutiny into Festus’s behaviour feel underdeveloped. Coincidences, like a student spotting Feyi/Funke from a tree, undermine the tension, while the climax relies on implausible resolutions, such as Miss PJ’s sudden triumph and the abrupt intervention of the police. These flaws disrupt the narrative flow, making the plot feel contrived and unconvincing.

Technical Aspects

The technical elements struggle to enhance the film’s impact. Cinematography falters in delivering a cohesive visual experience. While there are attempts at dynamic shots, they often feel jarring and everywhere, with the transitions lacking fluidity. The editing amplifies this issue.

Lighting and direction also contribute to the film’s uneven quality. Poor lighting, especially in night scenes, diminishes the mood and atmosphere, while inconsistent direction leads to moments of forced theatricality. In the final act, the film leans heavily on stage-like performances, which detracts from its otherwise grounded approach, leaving Miss PJ feeling disjointed and lacking technical refinement.

Sound design, in particular, detracts from the overall experience. While ambient sounds, such as the students clattering, splash of water, sharpening of iron, etc., are included, their mechanical, poorly placed execution makes them distracting. The poor execution of elements create a sense of artificiality that pulls viewers out of the experience.

Performances

The performances in Miss PJ highlight a mix of ambition and inconsistency.

Bimbo Ademoye, in the titular role of Miss PJ, demonstrates a sincere effort to bring optimism and determination to the character. However, her performance is marred by linguistic challenges that detract from authenticity. Despite being a Yoruba actress portraying an Igbo character, her dialogue delivery reflects a Yoruba-English literal translation, exposing a lack of attention to linguistic nuances in both performance and direction.

This struggle with language disrupts the believability of Miss PJ’s identity as a non-Yoruba character even though she speaks Igbo scarcely.

Sola Sobowale, as Mrs Adeyemi, delivers the necessary drama and action that her role demands, showcasing her ability to embody the character’s authority and hypocrisy. While her performance is largely serviceable, it is also predictable, as her casting in such a role immediately signals her as a villain: a pattern that has followed her since King of Boys and Soole.

The ending, however, diminishes her efforts, as the film leans into theatrical monologues for her character that feel out of place in the thriller context, turning her final moments into stage drama rather than a cinematic climax.

Chris Iheuwa, as the antagonist Mr Adeyemi, struggles to convey the sinister presence and depth required of the character. His performance lacks emotional intensity, and his monologues come across as weak and unconvincing, failing to elevate the stakes of the narrative. Charles Okocha, as Corper Festus, offers a flat portrayal. His depiction of the flirtatious and predatory teacher is one-dimensional, lacking the nuance necessary to make his character’s actions feel genuinely menacing or impactful.

The supporting cast, including Kunle Afolayan as the Local Government Chairman and Ibrahim Chatta as Ifabiyi are functional. Feyi/Funke’s portrayal (Mirah Balogun) suffers from inconsistent direction, oscillating between victimhood and narrative convenience, leaving her character underdeveloped.

The acting is further hindered by poor direction, which fails to create a cohesive tone that characterizes typical Yoruba films. While this theatrical style might make sense in certain contexts, it clashes with the film’s thriller aspirations, particularly during climactic scenes. Ultimately, the cast shows glimpses of potential, but the performances remain constrained by inconsistent guidance and weak storytelling.

Final Thoughts

Miss PJ presents the foundation of a promising narrative but falters in its execution. The story, while not inherently bad, is poorly told, with its scattered perspective undermining the audience’s engagement. The decision to frame the narrative through the voice of Feyi, or is it Funke?—only adds to the confusion. The inconsistency in the narrator’s name is indicative of the film’s broader struggle with coherence.

What’s more perplexing is the narrative’s focus. Despite being narrated by Feyi/Funke, the story delves into Miss PJ’s life with such depth that the narrator’s perspective becomes almost irrelevant. The result is a fragmented perception of the narrative, leaving the audience unsure of who they are meant to align with. This disjointed approach is compounded by the delayed revelation of the narrator’s identity, which feels more like an afterthought than an intentional storytelling device.

By the time the audience decodes who Feyi/Funke is, we are left to grapple with the incongruity of her two names and the misplaced emphasis of the narrative. This lack of structural and perspective clarity robs the story of the impact it could have had. While the premise holds potential, Miss PJ is a reminder that effective storytelling requires not just a compelling idea but a coherent and consistent execution.

Verdict

Miss PJ is a poorly executed film that fails to deliver on its premise, suffering from unconvincing performances, amateurish technical work, and a storyline that collapses under its own contradictions among others. Miss PJ is currently streaming on Prime Video.

Rating: 2/5