Dare I call this a noir? This is probably my favorite new release crime flick of the year so far, definitely in the running.
Here’s the set-up. A very contentious election is a week away and a minority group with newly recognized legal rights has an important swing vote. Three off duty cops, a veteran who is willing to please his superiors by being a little dirty, a young man new to the force whose father was a cop also, and a young female officer, hit a member of the minority group on the way home from a wedding. When he dies, the entire political system and the police force are after the three cops. Bring them in before election day by any means necessary.
I’ve written before about how noir can be about larger systemis forces defeating (if not crushing) the individual. As always in these discussions, the David Simon notion of the “essential triumph of institutions over individuals” comes to mind. It’s not a spoiler (if you know these types of stories) to say that these three cops are going to be thoroughly crushed by these larger systemic forces because the house always wins. It’s just a question of how bad will they be crushed.
Nayattu isn’t a crime thriller. As we ease out of the 2nd act and the dragnet is closing in. It may seem like some 3rd act genre histrionics may show up. Instead the third act becomes solely about inevitability and it’s been a long time since I’ve seen characters so throughly chewed up by larger systemic forces. I was knocked flat by how fucked and fucked over they were.
Nayattu made the shortlist for India’s selection for Best International film at 94th Academy Awards
Positive/highly recommended
Currently streaming: Netflix
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