Movie Review: Prashant Shukla
Plot:
A new arranged marriage puts an odd couple in a small house in Mumbai with very thin walls. They are alone, uncomfortable, and have to stay together. Grumpy Uma tries to handle the heat, her lack of house skills, nosy neighbors, and her awkward husband. But one night, she feels strange and wild cravings. A cannibal? A Vampire or a rebel without a cause? What is it that Uma opposes, forms the basic premise of the film.
The Performances:
The performances are one of the few reasons why you stay glued to the screen. Radhika Apte and Ashok Pathak shine as the dysfunctional couple who look like adults but quarrel like teenage lovebirds – unwilling to commit yet oddly obsessed with each other. Most of the acting in the film is reminiscent of Charlie Chaplin (more physicality, fewer dialogues), a daunting task for most actors, but these two hit it out of the park, especially Radhika.
The Technical Aspects:
Without a doubt, the film shines in this aspect. The editing and cinematography feel like flipping through the pages of a comic book-you never know what you’ll witness in the next panel, which really works in the film’s favour. The frames also have a certain noise or grain that appears very intentional and fits the tone of the film perfectly Truly commendable.
Mashup or Mishap:
The biggest gripe that I have with Sister Midnight is its inability to define itself and it cannot be defended by “oh its a creative choice”, NO! I’m all in to watch a film that challenges my wit and asks me to be an active recipient but there’s a difference between adding metaphors and an entire plot being a metaphor without fleshing out anything. The Wes-Anderson like frames, the stop-motion animation & hard-core rock/metal songs as the BGM gives the film a Unique Style but not an identity and that’s not a compliment.
It doesn’t let you enter:
Watching Sister Midnight feels like talking to that one intellectual guy who constantly boasts, ‘See how smart and mysterious I am’ in every conversation. At first, you appreciate the intellect, but after a point, it becomes unbearable – it never lets you be a part of its world and, in the end, hands you the baggage of ‘Now make sense of it all.
Review post link: https://www.instagram.com/p/DKUAnicuqF0/?img_index=6&igsh=MW4weGxnNGtudXc0dw==
Final Verdict:
In conclusion, Sister Midnight feels like an expensive dish with plenty of ingredients but not much to consume.
