Review of Mea Culpa: Tyler Perry's Netflix thriller veers into absurdity
Trevante Rhodes and Kelly Rowland put in a lot of effort in an oftentimes comically disorganised attempt to bring back classics like Basic Instinct and Jagged Edge.
Tyler Perry's lurid sensual thriller Mea Culpa has a few moments of low-rent fun, some of which are deliberate and most of which are not. certainly, the movie is about Mea, the female lead who is also, certainly, at fault—women are frequently in the writer-director's works. The businessman has developed a reputation for punishing his female characters, particularly when they dare to lose faith in their husbands, regardless of how terrible their actions may be. This was evident in his terrible 2018 movie Acrimony, in which he had the audacity to admonish Taraji P. Henson.
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His most recent target is a strong attorney, portrayed by Kelly Rowland, who makes a compelling case as a leading lady who is stuck in a disappointing marriage and a man who was sacked from his position as an anesthesiologist for showing up to work intoxicated (!). Additionally, he is subject to the control of his evil mother, who is portrayed by Kerry O'Malley to such absurd heights that I half expected her to actually catch fire. Mea initially declines an offer to defend an ostentatious painter named Zayir (Moonlight's MVP Trevante Rhodes, who deserves much better), who is accused of killing his girlfriend. This is not only because her brother-in-law would be the opposing attorney (! ), but also because the case seems hopeless. Nevertheless, Mea chooses to rebel and quickly finds herself falling in love with her client when the previously mentioned battleaxe—who is also terminally ill with cancer—demands that her not take the case. Kinky sex comes next.
While we go through the motions, there is some initially involving nostalgia for glossy 80s and 90s crowd-pleasers like Jagged Edge and Basic Instinct. (Fatal Attraction-esque goods lift – check!). Perry is obviously aiming for those glossy hits. Even though the film is obviously on a Netflix budget, Perry realises that part of the sleek thrill of these films is watching attractive people wearing expensive clothes living in ostentatious homes. Rowland and Rhodes enjoy making out while making sex eyes at each other, and RonReaco Lee, who was underutilised in Surviving Remorse, has a small role. Perry, however, is not Joe Eszterhas; his screenplay is a hastily put together house of cards that is ready to collapse at the sound of a whisper. Although Eszterhas's popularity faded over time, at the height of his powers he was a deft storyteller who had a gift for recognising just the right moments to pull at heartstrings. Perry is so incapable of using even the most basic controls that his clumsily constructed thriller devolves from a badly paced narrative to an unintelligible one.
The plot description would have led one to assume that movie is horribly overstuffed, with Perry's awful actors fumbling over ridiculously soap operatic dialogue and needlessly delaying something that needed much more concentration to pull off. Though it may begin as an erotic thriller, it eventually calms down to a sombre relationship drama and meanders into a conclusion that is based on puzzling twists that make very little to no sense. Perry has the intelligence to defend himself, but he does have the capacity to surprise (as seen by the incredibly ridiculous conclusion of his last Netflix drama A Fall from Grace, which was so shoddily put together that it had to be re-edited after viewers pointed out a number of glaring flaws). I had to continuously rewind the final act to make sure I hadn't missed anything, which I hadn't, because it was full of absurd plot twists and meaningless revelations. While the absurdity of it all is amusing, it's just too haphazard and even oppressively prescient to transcend into pure farce.
This week, Perry revealed that he was both astonished and apparently impressed by the capabilities of the controversial AI video generator Sora, and that this experience led him to decide against expanding his Atlanta studio (he also mentioned that he has already been employing AI in recent films). Heaven knows how horrible things will get if Mea Culpa is what Perry creates without giving the complete keys to machines.
Netflix is now streaming Mea Culpa.
Tyler Perry's lurid sensual thriller Mea Culpa has a few moments of low-rent fun, some of which are deliberate and most of which are not. certainly, the movie is about Mea, the female lead who is also, certainly, at fault—women are frequently in the writer-director's works. The businessman has developed a reputation for punishing his female characters, particularly when they dare to lose faith in their husbands, regardless of how terrible their actions may be. This was evident in his terrible 2018 movie Acrimony, in which he had the audacity to admonish Taraji P. Henson.
Review of Drive-Away Dolls: Ethan Coen takes a bold new route
Continue reading
His most recent target is a strong attorney, portrayed by Kelly Rowland, who makes a compelling case as a leading lady who is stuck in a disappointing marriage and a man who was sacked from his position as an anesthesiologist for showing up to work intoxicated (!). Additionally, he is subject to the control of his evil mother, who is portrayed by Kerry O'Malley to such absurd heights that I half expected her to actually catch fire. Mea initially declines an offer to defend an ostentatious painter named Zayir (Moonlight's MVP Trevante Rhodes, who deserves much better), who is accused of killing his girlfriend. This is not only because her brother-in-law would be the opposing attorney (! ), but also because the case seems hopeless. Nevertheless, Mea chooses to rebel and quickly finds herself falling in love with her client when the previously mentioned battleaxe—who is also terminally ill with cancer—demands that her not take the case. Kinky sex comes next.
While we go through the motions, there is some initially involving nostalgia for glossy 80s and 90s crowd-pleasers like Jagged Edge and Basic Instinct. (Fatal Attraction-esque goods lift – check!). Perry is obviously aiming for those glossy hits. Even though the film is obviously on a Netflix budget, Perry realises that part of the sleek thrill of these films is watching attractive people wearing expensive clothes living in ostentatious homes. Rowland and Rhodes enjoy making out while making sex eyes at each other, and RonReaco Lee, who was underutilised in Surviving Remorse, has a small role. Perry, however, is not Joe Eszterhas; his screenplay is a hastily put together house of cards that is ready to collapse at the sound of a whisper. Although Eszterhas's popularity faded over time, at the height of his powers he was a deft storyteller who had a gift for recognising just the right moments to pull at heartstrings. Perry is so incapable of using even the most basic controls that his clumsily constructed thriller devolves from a badly paced narrative to an unintelligible one.
The plot description would have led one to assume that movie is horribly overstuffed, with Perry's awful actors fumbling over ridiculously soap operatic dialogue and needlessly delaying something that needed much more concentration to pull off. Though it may begin as an erotic thriller, it eventually calms down to a sombre relationship drama and meanders into a conclusion that is based on puzzling twists that make very little to no sense. Perry has the intelligence to defend himself, but he does have the capacity to surprise (as seen by the incredibly ridiculous conclusion of his last Netflix drama A Fall from Grace, which was so shoddily put together that it had to be re-edited after viewers pointed out a number of glaring flaws). I had to continuously rewind the final act to make sure I hadn't missed anything, which I hadn't, because it was full of absurd plot twists and meaningless revelations. While the absurdity of it all is amusing, it's just too haphazard and even oppressively prescient to transcend into pure farce.
This week, Perry revealed that he was both astonished and apparently impressed by the capabilities of the controversial AI video generator Sora, and that this experience led him to decide against expanding his Atlanta studio (he also mentioned that he has already been employing AI in recent films). Heaven knows how horrible things will get if Mea Culpa is what Perry creates without giving the complete keys to machines.
Netflix is now streaming Mea Culpa.