‘Sister Midnight’ is a cautionary tale about the dangers of a relationship gone sour or, as here, an arranged marriage where the newlyweds have zero shared interest. Uma (Radhika Apte) is reeling from a disastrous life situation, and the anger and contempt she feels precipitates her intellectual, emotional and sexual awakening, while her husband Gopal (Ashok Pathak) has no trajectory to climb. In this respect ‘Sister Midnight’ is a feminist emancipation tale where defiance begets a new direction.

What starts off as a black comedy turns into something much darker, but also something not altogether clear as the film meanders down various rabbit holes, including the supernatural, and does not manage to espouse a clear or consistent point of view. It begins at least as a treatise on how marriage can lead to a feeling of entrapment and powerlessness, and we follow Uma as she seeks out alternative means of expression and agency against a backdrop of a husband who lacks the sensitivity and emotional or intellectual courage to offer the fulfilment she seeks.

While Gopal is away at work, Uma confides in her married next door neighbour as to what being a dutiful wife consists of, such as by way of cooking or housekeeping – as if suddenly, now that she is married, she is for the first time realizing that the chapters ahead of her in her life are curtailed and that her life is no longer her own. It seems that Uma might be having a breakdown, as she hears the voices and sounds of goats and birds, and through which Uma is afforded a chance to relocate the essence of her soul.

Having been bitten by a bug at a wedding, Uma appears, Cronenberg-like, to be metamorphosising into something feral, even vampire-like, and her new, transgressive state is one that, for all its taboo ingredients, is one that for Uma herself is refreshing, even calming, and allows her to hang on to an otherwise detached and forlorn version of herself. ‘Sister Midnight’ has a colourful visual palette with music that ranges from indigenous Indian folk music to heavy metal and American blues, even if this is all let down in the second half  which throws everything including the kitchen sink at us in order to wrongfoot and confound us as to exactly what if any lesson is being taught.