The Buckingham Murders

I attended this film with my usual crap shoot selection system. I suppose that this film could have a token Manhattan release given the city's diversity. Producer Kareena Kapoor Khan plays Jaspreet Bharma, a British-Indian detective overwhelmed by grief after her young son's murder. She accepts a demotion just to move and gets to Buckinghamshire. Of course, upon arrival she gets a missing boy case, the adopted son of Daljeet (Ranveer Drar) and Preeti (Prabhleen Sandhu). She refused it, but if that went through there would be no film. KKK is a star back home. But her British accent is not great and she is a poor runner. Drar is pretty good as the anguished yet misogynist father. He has a very sexy mistress to help drown his sorrows. Adwoa Akoto is nice eye candy as Bharma's fast friend on the force Sharon Marks. The true killer has a very weak motive and their identity truly comes out of left field. It felt unwarranted and bizarre. We get to see a lot of the Muslim community and how estranged they are from the mainstream. I felt that this film does what most film goers want. It kills time, but that is about all. KKK's fans will be happy to see her on screen. But the screening only had about a dozen people, three of whom were Indian. She ultimately was not much of a draw.

The Buckingham Murders has a strong plot and an intriguing storyline that pulls you in from the start. It weaves a suspenseful narrative that keeps you hooked until the end. The cast delivers commendable performances, and the film shows high production quality. However, it's difficult not to notice a recurring trope in Bollywood: the inclusion of religious tension, specifically between Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh communities. This time, the addition of these elements felt forced and detracted from an otherwise solid thriller.

It's understandable that art sometimes reflects social realities, but in The Buckingham Murders, the handling of these themes felt stereotypical and added unnecessary weight to the story. The portrayal of certain groups, particularly in a negative light, came across as a cliché, diminishing the film's uniqueness and seeming like a repetitive, almost predictable approach seen in other Indian movies. This kind of treatment might appeal to some audiences but for others, it can feel heavy-handed and repetitive.

If the film had focused solely on the mystery at its core, it could have been a remarkable addition to the thriller genre. Instead, the attempt to add layers of religious and communal strife ends up detracting from the narrative. This movie would have stood stronger without these added stereotypes, which risk overshadowing the well-executed plot and skillful acting.

Bollywood's 'Mare of Easttown'.....? Not sure if that's high praise on this film or that's an unfair comparison, but if you're into the mood for a crime thriller, you might want to check this out.

Kareena and the support cast do a good job. The film is well shot, the color correction stood out for the amount of green in the film. The plot - you can tell that they tried hard to subvert; you know the most obvious person with the motive isn't the real bad guy and that the predictable part in this film. You know someone else will eventually be the focus, and that takes (at least took away for me) the viewing experience, but you may feel otherwise and actually enjoy the film more.

Will recommend for a one-time watch regardless, if you like the crime thriller genre.

This is an example of a movie where the actors, the director - pretty much everyone else does a good job. But the script is so underwhelming, and dare I say, so out of place, that it just single handedly pulls the movie down.

Without going into any spoilers, the biggest problem with the script is that the script writer doesn't seem to grasp that there's something as 'too many twists'.

Towards the end of the second half of the movie, there's a major 'twist' once every 5 or 10 minutes. A lot of them just feels so forced just for a presumed shock value and completely destroys the momentum of the money.

Also, a lot of characters have extremely flimsy motivations behind their actions. Some don't even make any logical sense. And some, might make sense but the story doesn't do enough to make us really care about it.

I am a big fan of crime thrillers, arguably my favorite genre in cinema.

But this isn't it. A fast forward watch at best when it comes out on OTTs. Low average.

The Buckingham Murders is more of an investigation drama than a gripping thriller. Despite having the potential to deeply explore the immigrant experience in the UK, it barely scratches the surface, settling instead for a typical web series formula and superficial emotional arcs. The immigrant community's struggles and conflicts remain unaddressed, missing a major opportunity to add depth to the story.

The film suffers from predictable, even amateurish twists, and many scenes fall into cliched territory. Characters' backstories feel underdeveloped, leaving the viewer with little attachment or insight into their motivations. While Kareena Kapoor and the rest of the cast deliver strong performances, they're unfortunately the film's only saving grace.

In the end, The Buckingham Murders is a below-average investigation drama that fails to do justice to its themes.