Monica

Monica

By

  • Genre: Drama, Thriller
  • Release Date: 2011-03-25
  • Runtime: 124 minutes
  • : 5
  • Production Company: ARK Widescreen Films
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5/10
5
From 1 Ratings

Description

Public Prosecutor Mathur names an accused, Sandeep Mishra, and three other suspects who had arranged the homicide of Lucknow-based journalist Monica. The trio are Aseem Ray - a wealthy publisher; Pamela Grewal - a businesswoman; and Chandrakant Pandit - the former Telecom Minister and soon-to-be Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. With odds stacked heavily against him, Mathur presents, what is an apparent circumstantial case before a female judge, and must prove beyond a reasonable shadow of doubt, that Sandeep was directly involved - even though direct evidence indicates that the murder was committed by two unknown males, and that the deceased victim lived a dual life.

Trailer

Reviews

  • CinemaSerf

    6
    By CinemaSerf
    Trace Lysette is quite effective here as the eponymous woman who returns to her family to help care for her terminally ill mother "Eugenia" (Patricia Clarkson). She's a trans woman, is "Monica", and it's been more than twenty years since she left. Needless to say, there are adjustments a-plenty to be made by all concerned, and given the imminence of the impending demise, the story gains an added potency putting things and erstwhile priorities into sharp new perspective. Gradually we discover that the scenario of estrangement wasn't caused they way we might have expected, and as the narrative develops we realise that lives have been traumatic for all concerned over the intervening decades. What's also pretty clear from the outset is that "Monica" has self-esteem issues, and the near constant references to her friend "Jimmy" whom we never meet does make you wonder of he is real or a place to put her soul - but I doubt both. What does rather let this down badly is the pace and the standard of the writing. It's a slow burn, but that needn't have mattered if the dialogue could have been a little more considered and punchy. As it is, I found it developed in an almost languid fashion. That's not to say that at times it's not poignant, and there are some very emotional scenes between mother and daughter, and between sister and brother (Joshua Close) that cut very close to the bone. Though it's essentially a story about acceptance - and it's not just the trans elements that require that - it's about a family coming to terms with loads of errors of judgement and rash decisions that with just a slightly more assured and focused hand at the tiller, could have delivered much better.

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