Jujuman

Jujuman follows a South London gang leader, Mani (Caleb Obediah), as he is forced to rethink his attitudes when a mysterious vigilante witch doctor confronts him. The witch doctor has appeared to have placed a curse on him, intended to put his mother’s life in danger. The narrative is based on a true story and is dedicated to the life of Tobi Animashaun.

Jujuman possesses an intriguing premise that blends a fairly grounded narrative set around South London with a fantasy archetype. While the piece can feel disjointed at times, with the mix of comedic and dramatic beats not entirely landing, the fantasy elements are astounding, despite the film's budget constraints. The film's ideas are thematically rich, with the discussions of power and religion present throughout much of the runtime. In particular, the dialogue involving the discussions of the power of Juju is effective, giving the narrative a deeper subtext. Despite the film exploring these absorbing ideas of religion and the power of Juju, it never truly reaches its full potential by not analysing them beyond their surface level. The screenplay rarely explores Mani’s inner turmoil, and it's a detrimental aspect to the film's central themes of guilt.

The camerawork is mostly engaging, as Mani is framed from an overhead perspective, which is an incredibly unique approach to convey his guilt-ridden personality. The switch to handheld camerawork during sequences of conflict is mostly apt and gritty in its depiction of gang rivalry in South London. During a chase sequence, however, the editing is unfortunately choppy, with a jarring number of cuts, making these moments rather incomprehensible at times. The musical score occasionally feels upbeat, but it doesn't align tonally with the film during moments of conflict. That being said, the film, for the most part, retains its gritty and uncompromising vision of South London.

The performances across the board are incredibly raw and nuanced, particularly Caleb Obediah’s portrayal of Mani. He conveys a great level of empathy and care for his mother, and despite his flaws, he tries his best to protect her. Golda John, in her portrayal of Funmi, is also commendable, as she tries to understand Mani’s lifestyle while feeling at odds with the choices he makes despite her love for him. The chemistry between the gang members is also engaging as it perfectly blends the humour and severity of the situation.

Unfortunately, the pacing of the piece is fairly stagnant throughout and really takes its time to kick into gear. While the film does pick up dramatically once conflict arises, it never quite finds its stride and flows in a rather meandering fashion. Despite its incredibly brisk runtime, the duration feels prolonged due to these pacing issues. If the narrative had delved more into the crime aspects of Mani’s gang, his characterisation could have been more fleshed out as to why he fell into that lifestyle.

Jujuman is a frustrating experience as the ideas presented are incredibly engrossing; however, the piece rarely explores the implications of Mani’s characterisation enough. While it is well-acted and blends a grounded premise with some effective fantasy elements, it never quite explores its themes in depth, given their integral role in the film’s central ideas.