MOVIE REVIEW

Romeo & Juliet

Director: Carlo Carlei
Writer:  Julian Fellowes (screenplay), William Shakespeare (play)
Cast:  Hailee Steinfeld, Douglas Booth, Damian Lewis
Runtime: 118 Minutes
Strength: Camerawork, music
Weakness: Poor screenplay and dialogue
Showbiz rating: 2/5
Plot:  Based on the classic tale of love by William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet is the most recent adaptation on the silver screen. Romeo and Juliet secretly wed despite the sworn contempt their families hold for each another. It is not long, however, before a chain of fateful events changes the lives of both families forever.
Review: “Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast.” That's the good Friar Lawrence warning Romeo not to act in haste, though he might just as well have been advising against the lurching, unsteady approach that proves the undoing of this desultory new version of “Romeo & Juliet.” Billing itself as the first picture since Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 film to return Shakespeare's endlessly malleable tragedy to its Veronese roots, director Carlo Carlei's underwhelming adaptation, streamlined and simplified by Julian Fellowes from the original text, offers a throwback to classicism but is in little danger of being mistaken for a classic. Shorn of eroticism, intensity or purpose, apart from being the first feature backed by enterprising luxury brand Swarovski, it strikes familiar beats in a manner more strained than inspired. This is the most recent in a series of Italian versions of Romeo and Juliet which starts with the 1955 film directed by Renato Castellani and the 1968 film directed by Franco Zeffirelli. They are all very pretty and this one is the prettiest, with extremely pretty scenery, a pretty Juliet and an even prettier Romeo. That's about the best that can be said for it. Unfortunately, the leads aren't persuading anyone that they are in love, and our attention is drawn instead to some good performances by the supporting cast, especially Damian Lewis's Capulet, which I think is the best performance by anyone as Capulet on screen ever.

Reviewed by Mohammad Haque

***

Mishawr Rahasya

Director: Srijit Mukherji
Writer: Sunil Gangopadhyay
Cast: Prosenjit Chatterjee, Indraneil Sengupta, Rajit Kapoor, Swastika Mukherjee, Rajesh Sharma
Runtime: 153 Minutes
Strength: Acting; Prosenjit as Kakababu
Weakness: Too lengthy and cumbersome
Showbiz rating: 2.5/5
Plot: A secret message is written in hieroglyphics by an Egyptian preacher. He has two rival groups of followers who are after the meaning of the message as they believe it contains the directions to a treasure. As Kakababu takes on the case, he realizes the message in the hieroglyphics is something much more significant than just a will or a treasure map.
Review: There is no lack of Sherlock Holmes wannabes – Sunil Gangopadhyay came up with Kakababu. Played by Prosenjit, he fits in the role of Kakababu beautifully and he does a great job of portraying the character, but everything around him is underdeveloped and there is very little to appreciate apart from him. Like all other detective stories, Kakababu's has a sidekick - his nephew, Shontu. Although, Kakababu and Shontu are very hard pressed to match the wits of Sherlock and Watson. To engage a wider range of viewers, there is romance and humour in the film, which is necessary for any adventure film, especially when the film has a runtime of 153 minutes! A large part of the movie was filler scenes, with unintelligent characters which add nothing to the plot. The reason why detective films are so appealing is because they are placed in surroundings that are tough and the adversary they face is intelligent, cunning and menacing. The dumbness of other characters makes Kakababu look intelligent. This movie will not work for staunch detective-story lovers. But location choice and some charisma in editing may entice a few.

Reviewed by Zia Nazmul Islam

***

Miss Lovely

Director: Ashim Ahluwalia
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Anil George, Niharika Singh
Genre: Drama
Duration: 130 minutes
Strengths: It is a deeply sympatico look at a bunch of people who are hideously beautiful.
Weakness: There is nothing lovely about the world that director Ashim Ahluwalia creates in Miss Lovely  
Showbiz Rating: 3/5
Plot:  Set in the mid-1900s, the film is about two brothers who produce C-grade sex and horror films. This is a world in which leering men say lines like “Ladkiyan khubsoorat honi chahiye aur besharam bhi”, and women are clinically reduced to body parts.
Review:  When we first come upon the Duggal brothers, Vicky (Anil George) and Sonu (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), they are in a face-off, a pattern that will repeat through the film. The older Vicky is the more entrenched one, who understands the rules of the very dodgy games they play: Sonu is trapped, and wants to break free, especially when he encounters the beautiful Pinky (Niharika Singh). Sonu has done something foolish in order to make some money, Vicky is furious, but is impelled to save his younger brother's skin. But for how long can this go on?
Nawaz's journey becomes ours, as he tries to side-step the tangles of this world of greedy businessmen whose depravity knows no limits, abandoned tin-sheds that become impromptu sets for 'blue' films, lusty agents who think nothing of 'live auditions', married women who are happy to show off their moves, and the quiet desperation of young girls who have nowhere to go but down. There is no obvious plot, but very smart plotting. He expects you to do some of the lifting, and if you are game, you are in for the sort of cinematic experience that is rare in Indian cinema. In a couple of places I found some props (like a plump bikini clad female carrying a tape-recorder rather obviously) shouting out, 'look, look, we are the 80s'. But in practically every other part of the film, the set design is impeccably understated.
Nawazuddin's tragic hero is the soul of this film, in turns mirroring the anguish and the dirt and the pain of 'Miss Lovely's unlovely, squalid world. Anil George does an excellent job, as does Niharika Singh. As do the other bit parts that come and go. This is a film that unsettled me, and moved me. This is also a film I will savour for a long time.

Reviewed by Broti Rahman