Dominic and the Ladies’ Purse Review

2.25/5

02 Hr 32 Mins   |   Mystery Comedy Thriller   |   24-01-2025


Cast - Mammootty, Gokul Suresh, Sushmitha Bhatt, Lena, Viji Venkatesh, Shine Tom Chacko, Meenakshi Unnikrishnan, Vineeth, Saiju Kurup and others

Director - Gautham Vasudev Menon

Producer - Mammootty

Banner - Wayfarer Films & Mammootty Kampany

Music - Darbuka Siva

Vendhu Thanindhathu Kaadu(2022) and Joshua: Imai Pol Kaakha(2024), after delivering two not-so-good films back to back, the maverick director, Gautham Vasudev Menon, teamed up with Malayalam Superstar, Mammootty, for the Malayalam mystery comedy thriller film, Dominic and the Ladies’ Purse. The film instantly generated buzz when it was announced last year due to the unusual combination of the hero and the director. The film was released in theatres today in Malayalam. Did Gautham Vasudev Menon deliver a much-needed hit film to his currently struggling career as a director? Did Mammootty deliver yet another memorable performance? Let’s find out with a detailed analysis.

What is it about?

Mrs. Madhuri(Viji Venkatesh), the landlord of C.I. Dominic(Mammootty) finds an unattended ladies’ purse with some cash and a chain in it during her visit to a hospital. She asks C.I. Dominic, an Ex-Cop and detective to find out the whereabouts of the purse owner and hand it over to her. A reluctant Dominic makes a deal with Mrs Madhuri and starts an investigation to find the owner of the purse. Who is the owner of the purse? Why did she miss the purse in the hospital? What did Dominic find during his investigation? Forms the rest of the story.

Performances:

Mammootty delivered a very good performance as usual. His subtle comedy timing and performance as C.I. Dominic is the only thing in the film that made the audience sit through the first two hours of the film. Debutant, Sushmitha Bhatt as Nandita got a meaty role. She looked confident and delivered a good performance.

Vineeth Radhakrishnan, Prema Desam & Chandramukhi fame, appeared on screen after a long time. He did his role well. Shine Tom Chacko appeared as Alby got a small and insignificant role. Viji Venkatesh as Mrs. Madhuri, the landlord, played a crucial role and she did well. Gokul Suresh in the role of Dominic’s assistant generated a few laughs here and there.

Technicalities:

Gautham Vasudev Menon movies usually will have very good music but in ‘Dominic and the Ladies’ Purse’, the music is below par. Darbuka Siva neither composed good songs nor scored an exciting background score.

Editing by Anthony is one of the main culprits in the technical department film. At least 30 minutes of the film should have been edited to make it crisp and exciting. A couple of sub-threads with no relevance to the actual story should have been edited. The cinematography by Vishnu Dev is decent. Overall, the technical standards of the film are subpar compared to the standards we usually get to see in Malayalam films.

The director, Gautham Vasudev Menon who also shared the screenplay credits with two others, came up with a disappointing film. He should have put more effort into making the film gripping with a tight screenplay.

Positives:

  1. Mammootty Performance
  2. Pre-Climax & Climax

Negatives:

  1. Unexciting Screenplay
  2. Predictable Twist
  3. Editing
  4. Music
  5. Boring First Two Hours

Analysis:

There’s a sequence in the film where Dominic says to his assistant, Vignesh, that he watched an investigative thriller film a few days ago and he was able to predict the twist midway through the film. It is the exact feeling most of the audience with a little bit of experience in watching investigative thriller films, get while watching ‘Dominic and the Ladies’ Purse’. Right from the very first moment the antagonist appears on screen, the audience can guess that he/she is the culprit. The only thing that may intrigue the audience is why he/she did what they did.

The director, Gautham Vasudev Menon’ got the last act right(i.e. Pre-Climax and climax). It is only during the last act of the film, we get to see the director’s brilliance. But again, by the time the last act starts, we already get to know ‘Who’ did it and we just wait to see ‘Why’ they did it. It looks like the director and his team wrote the twist upfront and added some painfully boring and slow-paced investigative drama around it to make a full-length feature film.

Mammootty with his effortless performance and subtle comedy timing tried his best to make the audience sit through the film. Right from the word go until pre-climax, the film offers no thrills. What we get to see until pre-climax is forever dragged boring investigative sequences unfolding one after the other. Investigative thriller films work big time when they are made with a tight screenplay, crisp runtime & at least one are two breathtaking twists. The problem with ‘Dominic and the Ladies’ Purse’ is that it is two hours and thirty-odd minutes long and it neither has a tight screenplay nor a few breathtaking twists.

Overall, Dominic and the Ladies’ Purse is yet another disappointing film from Gautham Vasudev Menon in recent times and may not deserve a visit to the theatre to watch it. You may give it a try when it is released on a digital platform during your free time.

Dominic and the Ladies’ Purse – Predictable & Boring

Rating – 2.25/5

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