‘Sister Midnight’ review: A colorful blend of genres

Sister Midnight, Karan Kandhari’s directorial debut, is an astonishingly complex film to review without spoiling the delicious secret at its center. This twist crept up on me as I viewed the film and managed to actually surprise, which is no small feat when it feels like so many modern films are retreading the same tired ground. Sister Midnight is full of surprises, with Kandhari blending genres with a refreshing fearlessness.

Kandhari does this mostly successfully, with some moments of aimlessness that drag down an otherwise vibrant film. Still, this chaotic feminist fable feels like a breath of fresh air in an era of cinema littered with stories based on famous IP and seemingly endless sequels.

Sister Midnight highlights the absurdity of domestic life and gender roles, with Radhika Apte giving a lead performance that anchors the film. Apte plays Uma, a woman who has recently entered into an arranged marriage with a man she barely knows. Apte’s comedic timing is superb, making me laugh out loud several times with only a slight gesture or change in facial expression. The film is generally hilarious, but most humor stems from Uma’s reckoning with domesticity.

Sister Midnight eschews the need to romanticize women’s suffering.

The film is unafraid of its female lead appearing unglamorous, one of the best qualities of the film. It seems that nowadays female characters must be primed for Pinterest boards and TikTok edits meant to aestheticize their despair, but Uma’s journey is relatable in its inelegance. That is not to say that Apte is not given an opportunity to be lovely, but Kandhari is not interested in romanticizing women’s suffering. Instead, he highlights Uma’s irreverent charm in the face of her circumstances.

Apte delivers a performance that feels effortless. However, the film needed a more cohesive narrative structure in order to allow Uma’s character journey to be more coherent. Kandhari often ends scenes abruptly, and while this occasionally works the film would have benefitted from lingering with the characters more during certain moments. For example, Uma’s relationship with her husband Gopal (Ashok Pathak), could have used more focus. It would have allowed for more emotional resonance, something lacking in this film.

Still, moments of tenderness balance out the darkness and absurdism. Pathak plays Gopal, who could easily appear one-dimensional, with a vulnerability that affords the character greater, necessary, depth. Uma’s friend Sheetal, played by Chhaya Kadam, is a welcome presence in the film. Disappointingly, we only see glimpses of their friendship, but still these glimpses into their dynamic truly shine.

The bottom line.

Many have compared Kandhari’s filmmaking style to that of Wes Anderson’s, and it is an apt comparison from a purely aesthetic standpoint. Kandhari’s use of symmetrical shots, music, and deadpan humor certainly evoke Anderson. However, Kandhari plumbs darker depths than Anderson in this film. His depiction of a woman at odds with the role assigned to her by society is a unique one, and Uma is a welcome addition to the canon of film antiheroines.

Sister Midnight is out now in limited theaters. Watch the trailer here.

Images courtesy of Magnet Releasing.

Isabella Cantillano-Sanchez