The Buckingham Murders (2024) Review!!

Synopsis – A grieving cop who loses her child to murder and moves to another town where she’s tasked with investigating the disappearance of a missing child.

My Take – With his last few years mainly focused on recreating real life events both in features and OTT, for his latest filmmaker Hansal Mehta turns his attention to a fictional police procedural-crime drama starring Kareena Kapoor Khan in yet another deglamorized role. And like his socio-political fissures (Shahid, Aligarh, Omerta, Faraaz), this one too stays true to what it promises: a comparatively grounded and realistic approach.

However, while it has plenty of gloom to go with the trend, there is also not enough intrigue in director Mehta‘s subdued treatment of the central mystery.

Clearly inspired by popular British police procedurals and Mare of Easttown, the 2021 miniseries in which Kate Winslet played a troubled detective, the screenplay written by Aseem Arorra, Raghav Kakker, Kashyap Kapoor (the last two also wrote Faraaz with Mehta), feels palpably like an episode whittled down to 115-minutes. With the writing being flinty and functional, the kind you’d get on a run-of-the-mill crime show.

Sure, it retains the grit and unpredictability but it also lacks the nervous energy and tension that are integral to this genre. Somewhere, the intent of making a larger point, be it political, religious, sexuality or gender driven, overshadows the murder case at hand. Leaving only its expression of grief and repressed anger seem noteworthy.

The story follows Jasmeet Bhamra aka Jas, (Kareena Kapoor Khan), a grieving detective sergeant who recently lost her young son in a mass shooting. Now newly arrived in the British town of Buckinghamshire, after requesting a transfer, Jas finds herself assigned by superintendent (Keith Allen) to take part in an investigation into the disappearance of Ishmeet, the adopted Sikh pre-adolescent son of Daljeet (Ranveer Brar) and Preeti (Prabhleen Sandhu), who didn’t return home from school one day, resulting in a frantic search.

And when his body is discovered in the local woods within hours, thus begins an investigation that not only reopens personal wounds but also has the potential to spark communal discord within the immigrants.

Here, director Hansal Mehta examines themes related to injustice that could easily apply to an Indian setting too. With the screenplay adding sociology to criminology, with prejudice, misogyny and a rush to judgement among the ideas that elevate a routine police procedural.

Yet, despite being set in the UK, with most dialogues being in English and a western sensibility permeating through the film, there is an inherent Bollywood feel to the film. Especially when it comes to the narrative and its characters. For example, the dour detective inspector Hardy (Ash Tandon), a British Indian who doesn’t speak Hindi and shows no attachment to the community, is an interesting player but the film takes the character in such a sensational and revelatory direction that he becomes one-dimensional.

There is also simmering tension between the Muslim and Sikh communities, and a nicely directed flare-up sequence in front of a gurdwara, probably the best scene of the film.

But there’s hardly any insight into the south Asian community in this corner of Britain, that it hardly leaves any deep impression of the place. Even the big reveal about the killer’s identity falls flat, especially since the subplot has been deliberately underplayed to maintain an air of suspense. Even after all is bared on the interrogation table, little makes sense, mainly as the murder’s character is so thinly written.

However, despite a middling narrative, the film unfolds as an interesting character study on unresolved grief and repressed anger. Jas’ reluctance to confront her psychological state and get on with her life is well captured. A scene between Jas and her father stays with you. Her tragic backstory lends an edge to the proceedings.

Performances wise, Kareena Kapoor Khan brings a diverse and nuanced turn, showcasing her range from emotional vulnerability to fierce determination. We see a de-glam Kareena weaponized her silence amid the chaos as she seeks closure in solving the case.

In supporting turns, Chef Ranveer Brar and Ash Tandon play their significant roles convincingly. Prabhleen Sandhu proves her mettle to guarantee more, better roles. Sarah-Jane Dias is wasted in a cameo. On the whole, ‘The Buckingham Murders’ is a straightforward crime drama that could have been tauter and tenser.