Ulasan Monica, O My Darling: Film Netflix Vasan Bala terlalu empuk dan kurang matang

Monica, O My Darling now streaming on Netflix wants you to think its a hatke movie. For those who dont speak Hindi, hatke in this context means different from what youre used to, as in not something you would usually see come out of Bollywood. In statements, its been described as a mix of neo-noir, black comedy, and crime thriller. But nearly all of that is hyperbole. The cinematographer, Swapnil S. Sonawane, throws in over-the-top shots like dolly zooms to impress you, but in the most-uncalled for situations. And Monica, O My Darling goes heavy on the background score, with the same song Yeh Ek Zindagi, a riff on 70s Bollywood dance numbers, replete with an Asha Bhosle imitation plastered across the movie. Its still ringing in my head as I type this review, and Im so sick of it.

A bit of this is dj vu for me. Monica, O My Darling director Vasan Bala pushed style over substance in his previous film, Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota (released as The Man Who Feels No Pain internationally). Except here, theres no substance. For all its showiness, peppy attitude, and too-cool-for-school attitude, Bala cant hide the fact that Monica, O My Darling is oppressively mundane. Adapted by Andhadhun co-writer Yogesh Chandekar from Japanese mystery veteran Keigo Higashinos little-known 1989 novel Burtasu no Shinz, this Netflix film is all plot, plot, plot. There are so many twists and machinations this one killing that one, that one trying to kill the other one that its all basically meaningless by the end. Its running around like a headless chicken.

Monica, O My Darling is, ultimately, overstuffed and undercooked. It wastes most of its ensemble cast too. Of the performances by the three biggest stars who lead this Netflix film Rajkummar Rao, Huma S. Qureshi, and Radhika Apte Aptes cop is the only enjoyable character, Qureshi impresses in the little shes given to work with, while Rao (who has the most screen time) spends the entire movie fretting and putting out fires. Those billed lower are either dead within 30 minutes of the story kicking in, boring and insufferable, or only there to serve the narrative.

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This new Indian Netflix film primarily follows Jayant Johnny Arkhedkar ( Rao ), who hails from a tiny fictional Maharashtrian town. Monica, O My Darling repeatedly notes his poor background, but it never really comes into play, so its essentially a waste of time. After having gone to an (unidentified) Indian Institute of Technology, he landed a job at the robotics company Unicorn Group, where he rose through the ranks to become a board member. Publicly, Johnny is dating the boss daughter Nikki (Akansha Ranjan Kapoor) and is on track to become his son-in-law. But privately, hes seeing Monica Machado ( Qureshi ), the secretary to the boss, whos introduced in what is basically an item number. Monica, O My Darling makes some strange choices.

Speaking of Monica, she reveals to Johnny in the opening minutes of Monica, O My Darling that shes pregnant. And though shes happy to raise the child by herself, she also blackmails him into contributing to her inevitable expenses. Johnny soon finds out that hes not the only one shes targeting. Monica has been sleeping around the Unicorn office, including with the bosss son Nishikant Nishi Adhikari (Sikandar Kher) who despises Johnny, and the accounts guy Arvind Manivannan (Bagavathi Perumal, credited only as Bucks) whos forever on the edge. Nishi thinks the only way out of Monicas financial trap is to kill her, and they plot her murder together one will kill, one will transport the body, and one will dispose of it and they take the foolish step to sign an agreement on paper.

As you might expect from a film that purports to be a comedy crime thriller, all of it backfires, but its neither amusing nor thrilling Monica, O My Darling just meanders along. (There are only a few scenes across its 130-minute runtime that grabbed my attention.) As Unicorn employees start dropping like flies and their deaths make the news, the Pune Police led by ACP Naidu ( Apte ) trains its lens on those closest to them. Johnny and Co. dont help their own cause; they behave worse than amateurs, revealing key details in public when they wouldve been better off keeping their mouths shut. Elsewhere, characters behave foolishly to suit the story, or wear plot armour that protects them in absurd situations.

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Mild spoilers ahead. For reasons I cannot comprehend, Monica, O My Darling gives away its murder mystery right at the very beginning, and then still expects the audience to be invested in it for the rest of the film. I wondered if that was a deliberate attempt to throw us off, but 100 minutes in, we are told that it was the same individual all along. (The murderer also explains everything, as if it matters or we care at this point. An annoying trait for any whodunnit film.) End of spoilers. The Netflix film sprinkles in more twists at the eleventh hour everyone is in on a conspiracy, right to the very top in a bid to get you to think about it even after the credits have rolled. But Monica, O My Darling is just so convoluted that I preferred to check out.

Ultimately, Balas Netflix movie is nowhere near as funny as it thinks it is, nowhere near as smart as it thinks it is, and nowhere near as out there as it thinks it is. Its a very routine affair wrapped in a near-constant background score akin to James Gunn or Taika Waititi hoping that high-tempo songs will carry you across a lacklustre plot . Bala has fallen for the same shtick. As bodies keep dropping in Monica, O My Darling, the ensemble cast matters little, and the movie becomes unhinged. At the beginning of this review, I called out this Netflix film on the genre terms it was throwing around. It fails to be thrilling or comedic, and its definitely not a neo-noir. The only part thats true is the crime bit, as Ive established. But the biggest crime is that it got made.

Monica, O My Darling is released Friday, November 11 at 1:30pm IST on Netflix worldwide. In India, Monica, O My Darling is available in Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam.