Sister Midnight review: Watch this bizarre and wacky film at your own risk
Don't worry, the the 'question mark' in the above rating was not a mistake; it was completely deliberate. Because frankly 'Sister Midnight' is such a bizarre and wacky film that I'm still unsure what rating it should receive.
Initially, I thought about rating it 4/5 because writer-director Karan Kandhari had the courage and confidence required to not only develop this story but also persuade producers to produce it and actors to star in it. On the other hand, I considered giving it 1.5/5 stars because I'm still perplexed as to how he came up with this story and persuaded producers and actors to develop and star in such a wacky and bizarre movie. It's obvious that this movie will and has already received a lot of praise from critics and plaudits at various film festivals, but it's also clear that people who just watch films to be entertained would not like 'Sister Midnight'.
Is this the most odd and bizarre review I've written? Maybe. Did I purposefully try to write this review in the most odd way to demonstrate that, just as the writer-director musters the guts to make this absurd movie, I can gather the courage to write in a bizarre style? Probably yeah; probably not. It is up to the readers to decide.
From the very first scene, the director makes it pretty clear that we are probably gonna see something absolutely bizarre and absurd we haven't seen in Indian cinema so far (at least I haven't seen this kind of movie made in India). The film begins with a young Indian couple, Uma (Radhika Apte) and Gopal (Ashok Pathak), sitting silently in one of the compartments of a moving train. The film makes it evident in the early moments that Uma is experiencing a sense of vacuum, particularly when she is unsure of even the most basic things expected of a poor newly married lady living with her husband in a noisy slum. As Gopal spends the majority of his time at work and spends his work nights drinking, Uma decides to work as a night shift caretaker and go on lengthy walks beneath the moonlight. Uma is angry at her husband and her boring married life, but as the film goes on, she starts acting more and more strangely and unsettlingly as she begins going on nighttime walks by herself.
'Sister Midnight' has a dark comical tone, with odd comedic elements interlaced across several sequences. Especially when Uma tries to spend time with her husband on Sunday. There is even a scene near the end that I found quite amusing, maybe because I had grown accustomed to experimental and strange tricks. There are probably many subtexts in some scenes, but rather than attempting to figure out the subtexts as the story progressed, I was more interested in finding out how much weirder and bizarre things would be in the next scene, and the next scene after that, and and another scene after that and another scene after that, and so on until the bizarre climax. Some might find this movie quite frustrating especially with those absurd cuts and some cryptic scenes especially with Uma's fascination with blood, goat and birds.
This movie is like those so-called abstract paintings that sell for millions of dollars. While some people think that the paintings contain profound ideas and messages, many others (including myself) think that abstract paintings are merely a way for dishonest artists to pass off and sell their awful works. However, I still enjoy looking for various abstract paintings, especially on social media, just to see what people think of them by reading the comments that are posted beneath the image. That's probably why I was more interested in watching this movie. Is that a good thing? I don't know. Is that a terrible thing? I don't know.
As expected, Radhika Apte gives an outstanding performance as an already disgruntled woman who gradually loses control of her dark urges, becoming into a cruel and vicious beast. As the film progresses, it becomes clear that Uma is not someone you would want to see from a distance, let alone interact with in person, but you are still curious to see how far she will go, especially once she loses control of her dark and cold urge. And the credit for that definitely goes to Radhika Apte.
Is this a movie I would suggest to my friends and relatives? Definitely not. Is this a film that I would suggest to movie buffs? Definitely yes.
Cast: Radhika Apte, Ashok Pathak, Chhaya Kadam, Smita Tambe
Writer: Karan Kand ari
Director: Karan Kand ari
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