Review: Haifaa al-Mansour's 'Unidentified' Fails to Deliver on Promising Premise
By
Siddhant Adlakha
Reliable enough to start your morning with. Toast it again tomorrow.
Summary
Haifaa al-Mansour's murder mystery "Unidentified" is a disappointing misfire that fails to deliver on its promising premise. The Saudi director, known for her groundbreaking film "Wadjda," attempts to critique gendered norms in Saudi society through the story of a police secretary investigating a teenage girl's death, but the execution is ineffectual, overstated, and under-dramatized, leading to a confusing conclusion.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledThe Saudi trailblazer — whose 2012 drama 'Wadjda' was the first feature shot entirely in the Kingdom, and the first Saudi film by a woman — returns with what ought to be a searing indictment of gendered norms under the guise of nominal progress
It has the right ingredients on paper, but its execution is ineffectual: both overstated and under-dramatized en route to a head-scratching conclusion.
Despite having a lot on its mind, Haifaa al-Mansour's murder mystery 'Unidentified' is an unfortunate misfire.
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