LAW Movie Review: There is something called Jolly LLB syndrome that is affecting a few of the recent legal dramas. The syndrome means there would be at least one scene, where a high-profile defense lawyer gets into an argument with a comical judge, who initially seems to be fawning over the former. The recent Kannada film, LAW, written and directed by Raghu Samarth and backed by superstar Puneeth Rajkumar, suffers from this syndrome. But that's not the only trouble with this film. Ragini Prajwal Speaks Up About Her Debut Film ‘Law’, Says ‘I Trust That We Will Have a Great Premier’.

LAW begins with an intriguing sequence where a bruised Nandini (Ragini Prajwal) jumps in front over a couple's car in a lonely place, while being chased by three men. The couple takes her to the local police station, where she reveals she has been gang-raped by three unidentified men in their vehicle. The police aren't very co-operative, and so isn't her father (Avinash).

When she faced roadblocks in trying to get justice, Nandini takes matters in her own hands. Her smart plays get the Crime Branch involved in the case, and the investigating officer Brahma (Hebbale Krishna) nabs the rapists, who turn out to be sons of affluent politicians. When the case reaches the court, Nandini, a law graduate, takes it upon herself to get justice for the crime that is supposed to have happened.

Now legal thrillers are something of a cool genre, because there is something in us that still makes us believe in the courts of our country. At one point, even Nandini says that she could have just took a gun and killed her three assailants, but she believes in the court and the justice system. So the genre itself is kind of a job half-done for the film. All the makers have to do is make a decent film.

LAW is not bringing anything new to the table - we have seen legal dramas like PINK, its Tamil remake Nerkonda Paarvai, and the recent Ponmagal Vandaal handle themes of sexual assault.

Like with Jyothika's Ponmagal Vandaal, another Prime Video offering, even in LAW, nothing is really what it seems. The problem is, though, we already get an inkling of that, thanks to some lazy editing and very average direction. Puneeth Rajkumar Birthday: Chanda Chanda And Other Popular Tracks Of The Sandalwood Star That Are Fun To Listen To! (Watch Videos).

The brilliance of a smart thriller is that it should hide its cards perfectly only to reveal them for a winning finishing move. LAW falters in playing its game discreetly. The distracting manner in which the film adds the subplot of Nandini's mentor Jagadish (Achyuth Kumar) and his daughter Dashmi (Siri Prahlad) is pretty jarring and raises enough red herrings in your mind. So when the interval twist arrives, I would be surprised if you felt surprised by what unravels there.

Watch the Trailer of LAW:

There are a few more twists that come later in the film, especially as the actually courtroom drama begins (the film's more engaging portions come here) and Nandhini's gameplan is shown. But a couple of them, including one about Jagadish, are so awful that it kind of assaults our own intelligence. Even Nandini's entire plan to get justice feels very conceited and convenient, thanks to some half-baked writing in those scenes.

Then there is the inconsistency in which the character of Nandini is depicted. The movie wants us to believe in her brilliance, so a scene where she shows random eagerness in spilling some her beans to a character comes off as very jarring. Considering she is in a movie, that shares the same fault, it shouldn't have been surprising.

In fact, the only smart aspect I found in LAW is why Dashami uses Dubsmash instead of TikTok to express herself, and no, it has nothing to do with the recent Chinese app ban!

While the fact that LAW couldn't pull off its biggest trick convincingly, even more annoying is the irksome infusion of humour. The unfunny antics of a police inspector (Mandya Ramesh), and later the judge (Mukhyamantri Chandru) deserve no place in a film that aims to be a serious look into how the law and justice has apathy towards rape victims, especially when the rich and powerful are involved.

The performances are also very okayish. Debutant Ragini Prajwal exudes a lot of confidence for her first major role, though there are a couple of places where she comes off very dramatic. Also, her makeup in the initial scenes should have been toned down a bit. The only decent performance I found was that of Rajesh Nataranga, who plays the haughty defense lawyer, even though his character comes off as boringly cliched.

Yay!

- Some Engaging Drama in Between

Nay!

- Let Down By Its Average Execution

Final Thoughts

LAW is a major letdown for fans who were expecting a thrilling legal drama. The films hardly brings anything new to the table, with the performances, the writing and the direction leave a lot to be desired. LAW is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Rating:2.0

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 17, 2020 03:29 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).