By DEIRDRE CRIMMINS
Starring Radhika Apte, Ashok Pathak and Chhaya Kadam
Written and directed by Karan Kandhari
Magnet Releasing
As satisfying as good-for-her films can be, they are necessarily born out of the heroine having a crappy time directly leading up to her triumphant moment. Dani doesn’t smile at the end of MIDSOMMAR without living through the death of her family and a terrible boyfriend. Carrie does not get revenge without an abusive mother and unrelenting bullying. And (to shift genres) Elle Woods does not get to surprise all her classmates and win the court case without losing her boyfriend and having everyone else in her law school underestimate her. SISTER MIDNIGHT should be spoken of in the same breath as these other good-for-her movies, and to do that life really stinks before it gets glorious.
The film (which played at last month’s Boston Underground Film Festival, and begins its theatrical release May 16) starts just as Uma (Radhika Apte) is taking off her jewelry from her wedding. It is less celebratory than the typical Indian nuptials, as it is an arranged marriage with an old school crush she hadn’t seen in decades, Gopal (Ashok Pathak). Not only do they move into a teeny one-room house on a very busy street, but Uma has no clue how to care for a husband and house, and Gopal comes home drunk nearly every night after work.
This new normal is devastating for Uma, but after crying over it, she gets working. Thanks to a grumpy but helpful neighbor (Chhaya Kadam), she learns to cook, and she gets her own night job cleaning an office building. Life might not be what Uma thought it would be, but at least she has agency and is a sharp woman. As her existence begins crawling toward tolerable, Uma’s health becomes questionable in specific and unpredictable ways.
It is here where SISTER MIDNIGHT begins to dip its toes into the well of horror and the monstrous. Yet even as Uma’s physical transformation unravels, the film never loses its dry humor and Uma never seems to lose herself.
Apte gives the kind of performance that makes you want to grab a drink with Uma, become fast friends and bond over bad relationships. She is smart and quick-witted, but not mean-spirited or unrelatable. Uma is going through layers of personal and physical troubles, and reacts completely reasonably, while still being hilarious. She calls her husband on his behavior and is consistently justified in her criticism. Watching a young woman stand up for herself, and work within the crummy world that got her here, is inspiring, and all of that good will is built through Apte’s performance. Balancing anger, fear and a sense of humor is a lot to ask of an actor, and Apte sells every single second of Uma’s life while on screen.
Though SISTER MIDNIGHT sits squarely in the horror genre, it is not a clear and classic monster movie. Eventually it gets there, and it is satisfying, but much of the film’s runtime builds up Uma’s world of monotony and disappointment. The repetition of mundanity ultimately serves to make her transformation all the more earned, but for anyone expecting AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON or INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, SISTER MIDNIGHT is not that kind of movie, and it is not trying to be that kind of movie. Instead, SISTER MIDNIGHT is funny and gratifying, with a career-making lead performance and a good measure of the monstrous. Truly, a cinematic joy.
