'Mom' review: A stylish but unconvincing revenge drama, similar to Maatr

The movie is held back by its sluggish pace, in which detailing of a scene is confused with depth

Murder is easy but parenting is hard in advertising filmmaker Ravi Udyawar’s debut feature. Mom is the latest in a series of rape and sexual assault revenge dramas, but it tries to rise above its shocking subject matter by looking at the subject from on high (literally so: top-angle shots are plenty). The rape that triggers Devaki’s righteous wrath is suggested but never shown – an eye in the sky follows an SUV that contains four men and Devaki’s 18-year-old daughter Arya (Sajal Ali) and interminably winds down deserted streets. As a capsule of agony and unspeakable violence, it’s one