Gentlewoman

Is Gentlewoman without flaws? No. Does it tread the fine line of justifying problematic relationships? Perhaps. But does it ignite conversation and introspection about the women in our lives, or even ourselves? Undoubtedly, yes. The film acts as a chilling reminder that women are conditioned to go over and above their comfort zone to cater to the men in their lives, but that men often do not even do the bare minimum. If Gentlewoman proves anything, it’s that being gentle is a choice, not a prerequisite. And in a world that still expects women to be gentle while excusing men, this film makes a strong case for rewriting the phrase to 'Gentlewomen and not-so-gentlemen'.

Lijomol easily gets to the do heavy-lifting and it works brilliantly to the film’s favour.

The film wants to be a social commentary on the manipulative nature of society, the difficulties to get out of stereotyping by the powers that be, a compelling tale of two women living mirror image lives and a dark and twisted thriller. However, in his attempt to be all this and much more, Joshua misses out on the basics, and resorts to verbiage. It is also disappointing that despite the stakes actually being really high, after a point, we don’t really bother about how the story would unfold. We are taken on a completely different tangent, and it doesn’t really work effectively because we are asked to look past the crimes in question.