i don’t agree with criticism that says “Sister Midnight” doesn’t make sense. Does it make sense when the hero single handedly beats up 15 gangsters? Sister Midnight is a wacky whimsical delight from Karan Kandhari with Radhika Apte as the protagonist. we learn more about her before we know her name. It’s one hour into the movie we hear her being addressed as Uma. I like this detachment. By withholding her name, the film forces us to observe her habits, quirks, expression and personality traits that make her rather the label of a name she was given.
She is repeatedly what fairness cream she uses, a question that puzzles her not because she doesn’t use one but because no one looks to see beyond anything skin deep.
There is a scene where her husband walks home and the camera moves with him as he passes by every home in his street. The domestic repetitiveness of every household – the woman serving her husband food which is in stark contrast to Uma sitting on the floor in the dark, waiting for her husband.
Kandhari control over the pace of the movie is exact – every repetition necessary but not drab, every scene intentional – offering neither comfort nor clarity.
We discern that Uma has psychological issues, given her auditory and visual hallucinations and the movie doesn’t shy away from portraying exactly that. There is no coddling from the gore or unnaturally alienating spurts of blood and guts. This is not a film interested in rational coherence, and it never pretends to be.
What I truly loved about the movie that despite all the life Uma is going through, she find her people – be it the group of kind trans people who take her in, or the very understanding Sheetal played by the fantastic Chhaya Kadam or the Watchman who forces her to go see a doctor – a kindred spirit.
Ashok Pathak as Gopal is equally off tangent as Uma and is excellent in his role. He understands Uma is force to be reckoned with and is afraid of her, rightfully so.
Background score by Paul Banks adds the rights spots of color elevating this film to whimsical magic instead of just dark. Banks has allowed for natural sounds in several portions that allows us as the audience to be a part of the scene – the music blending seamlessly into the narrative and doesn’t pull our attention away.
I enjoyed this film, thoroughly. there is no need for a lesson or a takeaway with every movie but if there ever was one it is that – acceptance arrives gently, in silence and often from people the society rarely looks at twice.
