The Judgement

Plot: Govind (Ravichandran) is the best lawyer in town. He takes up a murder case and wins, but that pushes him into an ethical dilemma. Can he cope with his internal struggles?

Review: Investment banker Anil (Diganth Manchale) is arrested for the murder of his client Roopa (Roopa Rayappa). Lawyer Govind (Ravichandran) ensures that Anil is put behind the bars. But his instinct tells him to dig deeper in the case and find out if Anil is the actual culprit. Many skeletons tumble out of the closet as he carries out his investigation. How Govind brings the actual culprits to the court forms the crux of the story.

Courtroom dramas thrive on the element of suspense, but in The Judgement, clues conveniently keep popping up hinder this effect. The movie has some fabulous performances by the ensemble of actors - Ravichandran, Meghana Gaonkar, Diganth Manchale, Dhanya Ramkumar, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy, and Rangayana Raghu. The movie becomes interesting once Ravichandran decides to switch sides to bring the real culprits to the books. Despite its shortcomings, the movie makes for a decent watch, thanks to some fabulous performances and court scenes. Director Gururaj Kulkarni has put together an interesting legal suspense thriller, albeit predictable. The visual palette is a bit dull, and dialogues needed some more grit. The supposed thriller elements aren’t thrilling enough either.

Overall, The Judgement makes for a decent one-time watch for those who enjoy whodunit thrillers.

-Pramod Mohan Hegde