Evil Eye ** (out of 5) (NR) Here’s the answer to a question nobody may have considered before - what do you get when you cross a Looking for Mr. Goodbar premise with a cultural belief in reincarnation? A very slow thriller, judging by this foray into that narrow field.
Sarita Choudhury plays the worried mother of an almost-30 single daughter (Sunita Mani) who is quite satisfied with her career and circle of friends in the U.S. Mom is living in Delhi, geographically and spiritually, relying strongly on astrology and assorted fortune-telling methods and omens, driving her sense of urgency for the daughter to be wed while she’s still 29. She arranges a setup from afar that doesn’t work out. But Sunita finds a guy who seems perfect in every way, and falls hard. Even better, he’s at least as willing to tie the knot. But mom has doubts.
Without giving too much away, we learn that her hesitance comes from the suitor’s similarities to an abusive ex of hers. The suspense lies in whether that will prove true, or if there’s some other hidden menace; or could he actually be as great a catch as he seems?
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The idea is fine and the cast is excellent. But the two directors (twin bothers Elan and Rajeev Dassani), let them down. My theory is that they carried sibling rivalry too far, with each unwilling to cut his own scenes and end up contributing less than half of the final product. Sharing is caring, lads. The result is too much running time of slow-moving buildup for whatever happens in the final act. (Amazon Prime as of 10/13/20)