Spoilers ahead…
The screenplay tries to pack in too much in too little time, but just being around these talented ladies is going to be enough for many.
The “one line” of Anjali Menon’s Wonder Women would be something like this: Six pregnant women attend a prenatal class, and experience both frictions and friendships. But the resulting film is not what that one line would suggest. In fact, I’d even hesitate calling Wonder Women a “film” – for it plays more like an extended commercial or music video. It’s a mosaic of moods and thoughts and emotions. If there’s one image that sums up the feel of this undertaking, it’s that of a pregnant woman closing her eyes with the kind of satisfaction only binge-eating can bring. The plate in front of her is loaded with carbs. There’s no dialogue, but the look on her face says it all. For at least the duration of the meal, the immense stress she’s going through has melted away. You may not know much about this person, but at that moment, you know exactly what she’s feeling.
You can read the rest of the review here:
https://www.galatta.com/english/movie/review/wonder-women/
And you can watch the video review here:
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Baradwaj Rangan 
Karthik
November 20, 2022
I quite liked this movie. It was breezy (and maybe a bit fluffy), and yes, it didnt really allow us to fully get into the headspace of the main characters, but that seemed to be the point. The tone of the film, to me, was like spending time with a bunch of strangers at a retreat. You dont get to know these people really well, but you get a sense of what it feels like to be around them through a handful of moments.
The “one-note” ness of some of characters wasn’t bothersome (to me) because the film span is short— its a two week story, and even in reality, only one or two traits of a person might be visible in that span. But thanks to the excellent quality of acting talent and of Anjali Menon’s craft, it never once felt that these characters weren’t real. Parvathi’s character for instance is moody for the most part, but you could tell that there’s a lot more to her than that. Same with Nithya Menen too. For the second time this year, after Thiruchitrambalam, she’s killed it with her silent reactions. And it wasn’t just her, so many scenes in this film never end with a line or a punchline, but with a silent “absorption” of feeling.
I thought it was a very neat idea to have the language fight upfront. It seemed to serve two purposes. One it formed a nice parallel to the “climax”. Jaya’s arc starts with the other women “ganging” up on her, and it ends with them coming together for her. And second, whether intentional or not, it allowed the film to quickly dismiss the question of why it was made in English. Jaya’s arc was the weighty one and it underscored the general idea of the film which focused on the journey rather than the destination. And I loved Amruta Subhash’s acting. Its no mean feat to stand out in this hotbed of talented actors.
If I had to nitpick, I’d say I wished they’d picked better male actors, even though the parts were really small. None, except the guy playing Jaya’s husband, was convincing to me.
In general, I think this film is a very well made, much needed addition to the Indian OTT space, which otherwise seems filled with crime and grime.
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Enna koduka sir pera
November 26, 2022
I kinda of liked this film. It was breezy, light and easy to take.
I had a tear rolling down my eye in at least one scene – the climax where padmapriya asserts herself as a lawyer and tells the doctor/medical attendant that there can be one companion that the woman can take with her into the delivery room. That was a quiet moment of women empowerment – a woman who so far had been conditioned/ not allowed to be assertive transforms into her own empowered self at that instant. I have seen this happen with a few of my women friends. Women who were supposedly too meek or conditioned by patriarchy or too timid suddenly transform themselves into an empowered being when circumstances reach a tipping point. At that moment, you rejoice for them as a fellow member of the sisterhood.
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