Tag: what to watch

MobLand

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Probably the only decent thing Guy Ritchie has been involved with recently

https://stanzedicinema.com/

Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Starring: Tom Hardy, Pierce Brosnan, Helen Mirren, Paddy Considine, Joanne Froggatt, Lara Pulver, Anson Boon, Jasmine Jobson, Mandeep Dhillon, Daniel Betts, Geoff Bell
To watch or not to watch: Pierce Brosnan in his Irish drawl, Tom Hardy as a loyal fixer-upper, and Helen Mirren as a psycho/socio-path in a story about mobsters, family business and political play? Who can ignore it?

The Characters:
In a land up north, there are two families controlling the business of the underworld- the Harrigans and the Stevensons. An increasingly chaotic and unpredictable Conrad Harrigan (Pierce Brosnan) and an evil Meave (Helen Mirren), who can put Shakespearean villains to shame make up the patriarch and matriarch of the Harrigan family. They have three kids – Kevin (Paddy Considine), the youngest and the one most involved with the family business, Brendan (Daniel Betts) who has screwed up all the deals he ever put his hand in, and the sophisticated and efficient Seraphina (Mandeep Dhillon), a result of Conrad’s “quickie in the bathroom”, and forever a belittled by Meave. Kevin and his wife Bella (Lara Pulver) have a son Eddie (Anson Boon) who has been spoilt rotten by Meave. And all this is tied together by their man Friday, Harry Da Souza (Tom Hardy) who is their cleaner-advisor-messenger-fixer-upper all rolled in one. Kevin and Harry were in the juvenile correctional facility together, and since then have been more brothers than friends.

The Scene:
Eddie Harrigan has gone off and killed Tommy Stevenson, and Richie Stevenson (Geoff Bell) is out for blood to avenge his son’s murder. While Eddie’s antics are not totally difficult for Harry Da Souza (Tom Hardy) to fix and wipe clean, this is something which requires him pulling all stops. In this mess, there is Meave being an out-an-out sociopath and urging Eddie to continue being the slimy sleazeball that he is. In the parallel, Harry wants to control the fentanyl business which is currently with the Stevensons. We also have Bella concocting a plot of her own for some personal reasons. Then Brendan goes and tries to get Seraphina to participate in a plan with some dangerous people, all to prove to Conrad that he’s not a screw up. As can be expected, all this requires a lot of people management, change management and micromanagement of the conceited, spoilt brats, which is in the repertoire of Harry, keeping him busy, all to the chagrin of his wife Jan (Joanne Froggatt) and daughter.

MobLand is a really good show. Like, really good. The star is undoubtably Tom Hardy, followed by the plot, followed by Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren, then everyone else follows. But this description itself casts a wide net as Tom Hardy is almost EVERYWHERE. He is probably the best and most efficient consigliere. There is nothing he bats an eye over, no problem too big/small/complicated. It is almost inspiring to watch his attitude to the jobs the unhinged and chaotic Harrigans ask of him. The plot with the multiple people trying to play to their own vanity, often to complete disregard to consequences is both frustrating and exhilarating. There are some sub-plots the series could have done without, but it doesn’t take much away from the main story. This is the gangster story audience can get behind, all complete with Fontaines DC’s Starbuster as title track. Cannot wait for season 2.

Heretic

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A worthy attempt to subvert a genre, but loses its way halfway through
https://www.latimes.com/

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Starring: Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East
To watch or not to watch: It is a decent first watch, and has a lot of shock value, but take that away, and you have any generic thriller

2 LDS missionaries are trying to spread the word of their lord and saviour from home to home, come over to an isolated house near the end of a road. The house is occupied a Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant) who had previously shown interest in learning about the LDS church. Since Mormon women can’t enter a house without a female present, the sisters Barnes and Paxton (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) check with Mr. Reed if he has a girl roommate. It starts raining heavily and after Mr. Reed’s confirmation that his wife, his soulmate is inside, the sisters enter Mr. Reed’s home, away from the torrential rain and a promise of pie. They discuss how religion is not the centre of culture anymore (which we witness in the initial few minutes where some young adults harass the two sisters). The three talk about how important it is to believe in a doctrine and find out through testing what one true religion is. And that is the whole premise of the devilry of Mr. Reed.

This is a clever movie, no denying that. In the typical horror movies we have seen, religion has been used as a weapon to ward off evil, be it The Exorcist, or the more recent Conjuring universe. This movie flips the trope on a tangent and raises the question – which is the correct, true, highest, purest religion? And theoretically, the road to the answer is paved with evil deeds by Mr. Reed (clever, right? *eyebrows wiggling*). And this is also the point where the movie loses its spiel. It begins as a debate on the truth taught by religion, which mostly asserts that that religion is the first religion, the one and the only. But what is first – The Landlord’s Game or Monopoly, Radiohead’s Creep or The Air That I Breathe by The Hollies or Get Free by Lana Del Ray. That is the debate, which gets lost in the rest of the movie. Or if it is present then it is only in words, not in action. Which kinda makes the whole premise lose steam.

The real pull of the movie is seeing Hugh Grant, the rom-com heartthrob who could star opposite Julia Roberts and make people wonder who is prettier of the two, as an old, wrinkled, charming man, with the signature Grant smile and the disarming look of dismay, as a conniving, heartless, sadistic misanthrope. Since this movie is essentially a three-hander chamber piece, it would have been a total dud if it wasn’t for Thatcher and East. They both have given themselves to their characters from beginning to end, and also developing themselves along the way. East being born into the church, but still curious about the world outside it and Thatcher being a convert and dedicating herself to it totally, completely. So strong is her conviction that she has converted 8-9 people through proselytising! It is interesting to see the two young women tackle their belief against a formidable opponent. But it doesn’t mean the story is strong, infallible or that its flaws can be written off as foibles. A worthy attempt in the age old genre, but needs improvement. Watch it with popcorn, but prepare to be disappointed.

Infernal Affairs

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Yes, it is as good as you have heard

https://www.netflix.com/

Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Starring: Andy Lau Tak-wah, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Anthony Wong Chau-sang, Eric Tsang Chi-wai
Where to watch: Netflix
To watch or not to watch: There are only a very small group of people who probably might not like this movie. Probably

Hong Kong has recently been taken over by the Chinese government after the British handed over the territory, and the police have been very strict about illegal activities. A don by the name of Sam (Eric Tsang Chi-wai) has lost a few men to the police raids. He has a clever plan to foil the police though – to place young kids with no criminal record in the police academy so he gets an inside man. The police has a similar plan – they place a smart young cadet right out of the academy in the criminal underworld (well, they make a whole show of throwing that man out of the academy so there is no suspicion. Just semantics). Now the young man is a long-term undercover policeman Chen Wing-yan (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) and the inside man of Sam is Inspector Lau Kin-ming (Andy Lau Tak-wah). Both the opposite parties know there is a rat in their midst, which they are unable to find out, until they do (if you have seen The Departed, you know how this goes). There is a lot collateral damage along the way, which depicts the Chinese influence on Hong Kong very clearly. It is a true delight (Edmund could have chosen this movie instead of those stupid turkish delights. Just saying).

When a movie is this good, it is this exact goodness which makes it difficult to write/review/critique it, because the reaction to it is plain gushing. There are multiple layers to this movie, from the characters to the situation and the story in general. We have Yan, the undercover cop who is tired of this life and is longing to have a normal life on his morals. He is not the top honcho in the criminal group and is struggling morally, very strong in convictions, but living in sub-optimal conditions, only able to sleep on his therapist’s couch. In parallel and in contrast, there is Inspector Lau, who is sure about who he is, what he needs to do to get what he wants, comfortable in the life he is leading and has recently moved into a swanky apartment with a girlfriend (who is writing a novel about a man with multiple personalities. Cheeky, that). All this is super easy to see and conclude and is a prime example of show-don’t-tell policy. Even the casting of the movie is on point. The viewer cannot help but sympathise with Yan who elicits a “poor guy” response at every point, and Lau with the chiselled cheekbones depicts a smooth operator policeman, rising through the ranks, getting what he wants before he even asks for it. And of course, Superintendent Wong is an intelligent, worldly man who is a formidable opponent. All of the players are all about business and there is little to no drama about it.

Drama is what differentiates the American version of this movie from this one, and the potential reason why Infernal Affairs might be rated higher than The Departed. The conversation between Yan and Wong on getting out of the undercover business drips with the desperation of a lonely, conflicted man vs the similar conversation in The Departed, which is more dramatised and had a high-horse moral tone to it. Infernal Affairs doesn’t need to explain the right and wrong of the situation, since that is largely stitched into our society’s DNA. It cuts through all that, gets straight to the story, and even eliminates any action. It is pure intrigue. And for these reasons, Infernal Affairs is a must-watch!

Poker Face

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https://www.rottentomatoes.com/

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Starring:  Natasha Lyonne, Adrian Brody, Simon Helberg, Benjamin Bratt, Ron Perlman, Rhea Perlman and many other celebrities who appear for 1 episode
Where to watch: Peacock+/Jio Hotstar (2 seasons, 22 episodes in total, 50 min per episode)
To watch or not to watch: A must watch for people of all ages, preferences, inclinations, etc. And guaranteed fun!

Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) is a real life human life detector – she doesn’t need to check your pulse, or pupils, or anything such thing. She just knows, there is a tell, a small flicker somewhere in the voice, face, anywhere, which makes her call people’s bullshit. Excellent for a poker players, not so good when you run into criminals everywhere you go.
Well, Charlie is a layabout, easy going, cigarette smoking, beer drinking free spirit, who is banned from gambling because of her remarkable ability, but it helps the owners of said gambling dens to catch cheaters. But things take a turn for the worse when she becomes a target of the mafia and has to be on the run, where she inadvertently runs into murders and murderers and their victims leading to the case-of-the-week structure with many celebrity cameos.

The format of the show is similar to Columbo, where we see the crime happen in the opening sequence of the episodes and then we see how Charlie falls into the scene, only Charlie notices things like Psych or The Mentalist and solves the crimes with the help of her power. Of course, some episodes are better than the others, and the episodes go from good in the beginning of the season to mid in the middle and ending with real good ones. But even the mid episodes will not dim the charm of the show, primarily contributed by Lyonne’s Cale. This Johnson-Lyonne duo is a match made in heaven, where it looks like everyone was having fun while making it. The vibe of the show is easy and fun, and the cases they present are serious crimes.

There are quite a few articles comparing Poker Face with Elsbeth and it is a fair comparison – they both have the same format of opening sequence revealing the crime entire followed by the sleuthing to uncover it, where Elsbeth relies too much on the character’s quirk, Poker Face divides that between the quirk and the quality of the story. There is also an over-arching theme of Charlie Cale’s run for her life from thugs, which adds a bit more spice to the show. Over-all, Poker Face is just better. It is that simple. Rian Johnson has found his niche and is doing a good job in this genre enough that the fiasco of The Last Jedi can be forgiven, unless he ruins the Knives Out franchise with the new installment, that is. His story writing skills are equal to the directorial ones, giving us one banger after another. This one is not to be missed!

Novocaine

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https://www.cinemablend.com/

Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Starring:  Jack Quaid, Amber Midthunder, Ray Nicholson, Jacob Batalon
Where to watch: Prime Video
To watch or not to watch: It has only one joke, but it plays it well!!! A high dose of entertainment for all action movie lovers

Nathan Caine (Jack Quaid) works as an Assistant Manager at a local bank, leads a simple, quiet life, has an unassuming personality, and has a crush on the teller by the name of Sherry (Amber Midthunder) who has the opposite personality of Nathan, being extroverted, a spitfire and full of spark. One day, some lowlives decide to rob the bank, and kidnap Sherry. Nathan being a one-woman-man, has ro rescue his woman from the thugs, even though they are not a real couple. But unbeknownst to people at large, Nathan has a superpower – he doesn’t feel pain. At all. Not even the bladder sensation to pee, or biting tongue while chewing, for example, which means that he has led most of his life sheltered and limited. Now with the love of his life (even if it was only one date) being kidnapped, the curse he has led most of his life threatening his very existence becomes his power where he can fight the bad guys without restraint (luckily he has some good fighting skills without ever learning them). So, that’s what happens – Nathan Caine, aka Novocaine to his bullies, becomes the knight in a bloody body armour to rescue his princess.

It is a good movie, it is fun, it doesn’t take itself seriously, and neither should you. It is a typical light-hearted movie where the trope is the underdog becoming a hero. That’s it. That’s the review.
Well, the last part can be explained a bit more. There are multiple moments where the plot is only a hole, where the cringe is high and gore is more. But then again, it did not promise to be a high intensity thriller with morals and takeaways. It is a plain and simple action comedy, which is hastily thrown together to make it a quasi-cohesive movie which delivers on entertainment. There is much to be said about self-awareness in the movie making world and it is almost always a positive character trait.

It is fun to see Quaid in a The Boys+Punisher mash-up of a role. He is good at it, and after The Boys, it is easier to see him in movies where things blow up and there is blood and gore. Maybe we are seeing him too much in this genre? He is a decent actor by all accounts, his role in The boys is nothing to sneeze at, and maybe because of the success of the series, he is not getting any other scripts? This is of course, only conjecture, unless Jack Quaid himself comments on the website (wishful thinking). This is only to say that he has potential to be more than one role, one character typecast into this. It will be fun for us, but maybe not so fulfilling for an actor of his calibre. Watch Novocaine on a movie night with a bunch of friends and have fun!

Oddity

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https://talesfromthepaulside.com/

Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Starring:  Gwilym Lee, Carolyn Bracken, Tadhg Murphy, Caroline Menton
Where to watch: Prime Video
To watch or not to watch: Absolute must watch for lovers of supernatural horror movies. A simple movie with limited spread of the story which keeps the viewer bound

Dani (Carolyn Bracken) is married to psychiatrist Ted (Gwilym Lee) and they have recently moved to the countryside where she is renovating their home. Ted runs the local mental asylum and works at night. While Dani is alone at home, a patient of Dr Ted comes to warn her of a man who is trying to hurt her. Not entirely disbelieving the clearly disturbed man (with a glass eye) she goes inside and locks the door. Cut to a year later, Dani was brutally murdered that night, Ted has moved on and is now in a new relationship with Yana (Caroline Menton), Ted visits Dani’s blind identical twin sister Darcy in her antique store, to (not) invite her to his house (same as the one he bought with Dani) on the anniversary of his wife’s death. Darcy believes there to be more to the murder of her sister than the police have concluded and goes over to Ted’s house to stay for the night to find out more. To help her with this, she has also brought a wooden gollum, which was passed onto her by her mother.

This movie is goodddd… There are a many things which work in its favour and a few which don’t.
This movie excels in the feels, the creeps, the chills. The gollum placed at the head of the dining table, overlooking the entire living room, is one of those side eye pieces, which let us know there is something weird at all times. There are also some jump scares, which can be termed a cheap ploy, but somehow they work in this movie. There is an expectation of something about to happen, but when that thing happens, it is worth the slow build. And this movie is a slow build overall. There are some long scenes filled with conversations and timed pauses, and they slowly build the premise brick by brick. There are also some conversations which give clues to the whole story, thus conversations become vital.
At the same time, there are some plot holes, which are very small, but they are there. The whole movie is engrossing and a person probably will not notice the holes during the runtime, but they might nag later, after mulling over the movie. Thus this movie is a very good first watch, and delivers on expectations from a horror movie, but might not be worth a second watch.

The atmosphere of the movie is contributed largely by Carolyn Bracken as Darcy. The colourless portrayal of the character is so in contrast to the surrounding that it becomes a subconscious plot point. We know she has a quiet strength, which could have been explored further and could have added to the daunting nature of the supernatural. Gwilym Lee has the same acting skills as the wooden gollum, and the gollum had more screen time than Lee, which is fitting. All in all, a very good watch for all horror movie lovers.

Juror #2

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https://www.primevideo.com/

Rating: 2 stars out of 5
Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, J. K. Simmons, Kiefer Sutherland
Where to watch: Prime Video
To watch or not to watch: This is movie is like a motley teenager who thinks they are the President of the United States. The result is the same. The fact that it is directed by the acclaimed Clint Eastwood can be easily ignored.

In a small town in Georgia USA, a murder trial is going on to determine whether James Michael Sythe, abusive boyfriend of the victim Kendall Cater is the perpetrator or not. On the jury are people from different walks of life, with different life priorities, including Juror #2, Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult), whose wife is in a high-risk pregnancy, and he would like nothing better to be excused so he can spend time with her. But as luck would have it, he is a part of the jury nonetheless, and he is a sticky situation, because it turns out he is real perpetrator of the crime, but the police stuck to the theory of the abusive boyfriend being the perp. A fellow juror Harold (JK Simmons) has doubts about the police investigation and he mistakes Justin’s discomfort with the case as doubt into the conviction. The public prosecutor Faith Killebrew (Toni Collette) is standing for elections and is determined to convict Sythe to win the votes basis the fight against domestic violence. The defence attorney Eric Resnick (Chris Messina) is helpless because even though he is convinced of his client’s innocence, there is no way to prove it. It is upto to Justin to sway his fellow jurors away from a guilty verdict all the while walking the tightrope of not implicating himself.

This movie is thankfully not the swan song of the brilliant Clint Eastwood, it would have been a tragedy otherwise. This is a not a good movie. There is no other way to put this.
It might be a spiritual remake of 12 Angry Men, and it does turn into that movie during jury deliberations, it is trying too hard. On the one hand, the importance is on the fact of the situation of Justin Kemp, of course, who could have thought a juror is the very criminal in the case!? Brilliant premise, but somehow the reveal of the fact in the beginning (so early that it is also in the trailors) takes way from the fact. Now Justin is not a slick human like Danny Ocean that he can get away from the scrapes he gets into. He is a recovering alcoholic and a doting husband. And that is another problem – while the fact he is real perp is bang in the beginning, his recovering alcoholism is like a big secret that is hinted at for a long time till it is told (“in case you didn’t get the hints, here is what we were trying to tell you all along”). Weird, confusing, unnecessary and totally unproductive.

A movie with the promises of Eastwood, Collette, Hoult, being disappointing makes one feel hopeless for other releases which are much low on the star power. To be fair, it wasn’t the star power which was a let down, it was the writing. Or rather the confused vision on what the movie wanted to be. Lack of clarity of thought has brought down nations, and this is just a movie. And acting is not a cure, contrary to the movie makers’ belief. They are a tool to bring the vision to life, a face to the written word. There are many instances where a now popular character was earlier planned for a big star, but was given to someone less known and now we cannot imagine that character being played by anyone else. Because actors in a movie can be replaced, thanks to make-up, direction and writing. But there is no cure to bad writing. If anything, a good actor will make bad writing stand out in stark relief.
Not a good movie. Watch 12 Angry Men instead.

Wicked Little Letters

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https://www.primevideo.com/

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Starring: Jesse Buckley, Olivia Colman, Timothy Spall, Anjana Vasan
Where to watch: Prime Video
To watch or not to watch: It is a funny movie starring some of the best actors telling a story on a deep subject. Why not to watch!

The movie is based in 1920 England, where a lonely, devout spinster Edith Swan (Olivia Colman) lives with her overbearing father and gentle mother, next door to a single, Irish immigrant mother Rose Gooding (Jesse Buckley). Not only is Rose a single mother, but she is also living in sin with her partner Bill, swears like a sailor, and has a jolly good time at the pub with the other patrons, all actions not approved by the tight laced Edith. But Edith has another problem, she has been receiving poison pen letter, filled with profanity, which disturb her parents to no end, that too 19 in total! And not just Edith, the who’s-who of the village have had something vile said about them! The nerve! Who could have done such an evil trick, and who has such a potty-mouth? Why, Rose of course, with her new age ideas and little regard to propriety, she is the right suspect for this deed which has troubled the good Christians no end. Rose is thus arrested and having no money for bail, has to spend time in jail, more now that Edith’s poor mother died of a heart attack upon reading one such letter. There is also Gladys (Anjana Vasan) who is assigned this case, pays little attention to this claiming there is more serious crime to be investigated – and rightly so, she is very good at her job, but her misogynistic boss doesn’t recognise her talent. That is, until she decides to give this quickly spiralling case her full attention.

The premise of the movie is hilarious and the execution even more so. Anything which has either Colman or Buckley is a treat in itself and this one has them both. Add to this mix Vasan (of We Are Ladyparts fame) and you get a cherry on your cake you did not know you needed. This movie has some fantastic dialogue writing and a bit of on-time slapstick comedy which makes it an ideal viewing pleasure. The movie touches on a topic, or rather, a side to human nature we all know and talk about but has never given the center stage or a de-facto position it deserves. And that is the real feat of this movie. Anyone who has ever had someone out to get them should come back to this movie and understand the underlying reason for such malice. It might help to understand the other person and maybe lessen their burdens a bit.
On the other side, the story and performance can only do so much. They are not the salve for the wounds caused by sloppy screenplay. Things suddenly take a turn and it is revealed who has been actually writing the letters, and while it deserves a slow camera pan-up to the face of the criminal, and its own crescendo in the background, it gets none of that, but rather a reveal which is more matter-of-fact. That take away from the almost 50% of the runtime build-up we have been viewing and waiting for. And the climax, while totally funny (ngl) is make out to be this big curtain drawing moment, which we saw coming a mile away.

It is confounding to realise why people can be so bitter about themselves and their lives that they have to take it out on others who have absolute zero contribution in their misery. Their only sin is that they have something the bitter person covets. And don’t all humans covet something they see others enjoying? So when does this scarcity give rise to such acid in their nature? Is there a trigger or is this something that builds up slowly, was always there and was only looking for an opening to rear its ugly head? On the flip side, what is stopping anyone from changing their lives, little bit at a time, because afterall it is the little things that matter, that one can control? Or is the effort in making that change so daunting, so scary, and turning into a harmful part of humanity so easy and satisfying, that it becomes the immediate choice? Is it a choice? Maybe it is. Comment if you have any answers to these questions?
This movie is a light-hearted, but deep movie which comes rarely on the screen, and has all but one pillar working for it. It can be a family movie too, if the family has members above the minimum age of voting, or driving, at the more adult’s discretion. The dialogues and the letters are so ridiculously out-there, they are laugh-out-loud. Jesse Buckley’s character’s free way of life is so inviting, all of us would want to be there with her, but we would need to build our characters strong enough. It is uplifting. Watch it!

Ela Veezha Poonchira

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https://www.cinemaexpress.com/

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Starring: Soubin Shahir, Sudhi Koppa, Jude Anthany Joseph
Where to watch: Prime Video
To watch or not to watch: A must watch for your Friday night intense watch! Fresh and brilliant!

Madhu (Soubin Shahir) is a police constable posted at a hilltop to maintain the lines for wireless signals and keep people away from the area as it is frequently struck by lightning. He is accompanied by another younger constable Sudhi (Sudhi Koppa) who has a rather cavalier attitude to Madhu’s more serious, withdrawn, quiet persona. Madhu cooks chicken curry for Sudhi, cleans up after him, tells him off from watching a couple having a private time among the bushes on the hill, all in all, a fair balance. In the opening scene we learn that there are dismembered body parts found all around the hill, and leads to an investigation that the two constables can follow through the wireless. But along with this, there is a simmering tension under the surface of Madhu’s quiet exterior visible through his furrowed brows, pinched mouth and staring eyes. With that is the mounting tension of the murder investigation, which then reveals itself to be the one missing puzzle piece which makes sense of the seemingly simple narrative.

This movie is largely a two-parter with very few supporting cast members, in fact, it won’t be wrong to say that Soubin Shahir is the Atlas who carries with him the weight of the narration. It is such an easy, simple narration, driven by dialogues, daily life events and, as mentioned before, a simmering tension. People complain about unfaithful wives, upset stomachs, normal police functions, etc. with nothing indicating the weight of the world waiting for the viewers at the end of the movie. But there are breadcrumbs spread all across the movie – from the opening scene, to a seemingly innocuous pregnant woman, a man masturbating, and so on. And when it all comes together, it is such a revelation to see the entire picture come to light. Very satisfactory.

In this era, when everyone blames huge productions like MCU for the high budget and claim the difficulty in products, we have a simple, poignant and deep movie like Ela Veezha Poonchira. The screenplay and cinematography are so tight and well executed, it is a masterclass in filmmaking. It is one of the best directorial debut movies and one of the reasons it feels so authentic is Shahi Kabir, the director, has been a police officer himself. Add to that the acting by Soubin Shahir – man! He conveyed so much by just subtle expressions – expressions of a man trying to hide his emotions in a setting where emotions have little place. This movie is a study in humanity and yes, filmmaking. Film makers, take note. Film viewers, don’t miss this one.

The Residence

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https://www.theguardian.com/

Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Starring: Uzo Aduba, Giancarlo Esposito, Molly Griggs, Ken Marino, Randall Park, Susan Kelechi Watson, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Edwina Findley
Where to watch: Netflix (8 episodes, 50-odd minutes each)
To watch or not to watch: A closed mansion mystery with multiple suspects and Rian Johnson style storytelling. It is highly recommended for fans of typical whodunnit.

It is the night of Australian state dinner at The White House, rather THE WHITE HOUSE, where Hugh Jackman and Kylie Minogue are also present. In the middle of this, they find the chief usher AB Wynter (Giancarlo Esposito) dead on the third floor. The chiefs of all the major intelligence/security/investigation agencies are at the scene and are quick to call the death a suicide, except Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba), the greatest detective in the world (not unlike Poirot, only she is female and has less differentiated mannerisms) is called upon. She declares the death a murder and presents compelling evidence or lack thereof to boost her statement. What follows is a non-linear sequence of statements, evidence, lies, corroboration, congressional committee, exposure of personal lives and bird-watching to arrive at the truth. Oh! And Kylie Minogue performs. She is chiefly assisted by Susan Kelechi Watson (Jasmine Haney) who was Assistant Usher until Wynter’s death, and Edwin Park (Randall Park), an FBI special agent. Did Jasmine murder Wynter to quicken her promotion, or was it Harry Hollinger (Ken Marino) who was suspected of having a fight with the victim sometime before the “incident”, or was it the drunk butler Sheila (Edwina Findley), or even the pastry chef?

The brilliance of the series lies in the manner of storytelling ie, the pacing. It is quite like Knives Out, with the opening scene being the discovery of the body, fun quick cuts to scenes which lead to non-linearity and dizziness in the viewer, also making the viewer’s attempt to solve the crime difficult. Cordelia follows clues, which are lost on everyone, gets people to talk by not asking questions, push people into the corner by questioning everything, all in all, the fast-paced movement of scenes and dialogues and characters themselves, make for a really fun viewing. There are multiple characters and storylines, complicated by lies and small incidents deemed insignificant but turn out to be the real crux of the matter, Cordelia’s shifting focus to bird-watching, ensuring the viewer is kept on their toes. The show doesn’t take itself seriously and is self-aware enough to acknowledge the heavy borrowing from Christie and Johnson and what-not, it is funny despite the fact it is based in The White House, not because of it.

This show is a brilliant first watch, testing the viewer’s willpower to not binge it in one sitting, but only the first time. After that, the plot holes, the ridiculousness of the setting and extravagant mannerisms are easy to see through as distraction tactics. Aduba is good at her job and has an engaging screen presence, but someone alluding to her ability to solve unsolvable cases is not entirely believable, we are expected to just accept it. Then there is a whole origin story in the middle of the series, which was only a filler to make it last 8 episodes. The uncovered truth about the murder and the murderer is underwhelming so adjust the expectations accordingly. This is also the point where the series loses a score in the rating. There is so much underhanded display of female empowerment, that it is tiring. If you want real female empowerment in cinema, start paying equal wages, but putting men down only reverses the problem. Sigh!
Shonda Rhimes has made women-centric content in the past, while they were highly superficial, this is much, much better than the convenient, self-congratulatory plotlines of series like Scandal. It is flawed, but there is progress. And it is a good watch for all the mystery-starved people out there.