Title: The Buckingham Murders
Director: Hansal Mehta
Cast: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Keith Allen, Ranveer Brar, Prabhleen Sandhu, Ash Tandon, Kapil Redekar
Where to watch: In Theatres
Rating: ***
Hansal Mehta’s The Buckingham Murders invites viewers into the grief-stricken world of Jasmeet Bhamra, portrayed by Kareena Kapoor Khan, a detective mourning the loss of her son. While Kapoor’s performance delivers on the emotional front, the film itself stumbles, unable to match the intensity of her personal turmoil. Despite its slow-burn premise and atmospheric promise, the film often falls short of becoming the taut whodunit.
Kapoor's portrayal of a mother weighed down by sorrow is undoubtedly the film's anchor. Stripped of her usual vivaciousness, she embodies Jasmeet with minimalist expressions and a quiet yet simmering sadness. Her moments of silence are just as powerful as her occasional emotional outbursts, and her grief feels palpable. However, at times, the performance feels a bit too choreographed, as if checking off boxes of what grief should look like in a narrative like this. When Kapoor isn’t dealing with her character’s emotional baggage, she’s investigating a missing child case that never quite gains the urgency or complexity it needs to elevate the film into a gripping police procedural.
The film's premise—a Sikh child’s disappearance in a Buckinghamshire town amidst rising communal tensions—offers plenty of room for a tense, layered narrative. Yet, the execution lacks momentum. While Mehta's direction excels in social commentary, touching on issues like communal divides and the flawed police system, it falters in delivering suspense. The communal undertones and the personal stakes are rich, but they fail to intertwine with the central mystery in a compelling way fully.
Technically, the film has moments of brilliance. Emma Dalesman’s cinematography captures the sombre, wind-swept landscapes of Buckinghamshire, mirroring the emotional desolation of the characters. The muted tones and carefully composed shots emphasize the brooding atmosphere, enhancing the melancholic undertone that runs through the film. However, the film's pacing, hindered by Amitesh Mukherjee’s editing, drags at times, especially in the first half. The slow build-up fails to create enough suspense, and when the mystery unravels, the revelations feel disappointingly predictable.
The supporting cast is a mixed bag. Ranveer Brar, stepping into the role of the bereaved father Daljeet Kohli, delivers an earnest but somewhat clunky performance. His portrayal lacks the nuance one might expect in a film like this, veering into melodrama at times. Ash Tandon’s Hardy, Jasmeet’s dismissive colleague, exists purely as a foil to her character without adding any meaningful depth. Prabhleen Kaur, as Daljeet’s wife Preeti, brings a touch of complexity to her otherwise underwritten role, offering a glimpse of the emotional layers that could have been explored further.
Overall, the film feels like a missed opportunity. With stronger pacing and a tighter grip on its themes, it could have been a haunting exploration of personal and societal trauma. Instead, it tiptoes around its own potential, leaving us with a film that is more brooding than gripping, more ponderous than poignant. For all its gloom, the film misses the necessary edge to make its mark.
