What Is the Story About?
Captain Harun Celiktan has just had a celebratory dinner with his team after he gets the award for “The Policeman of The Year” earlier that day. He boards a taxi to go back home, but the taxi driver has other ideas. The driver takes Harun to a secluded location and attempts to kill Harun. However, after a tussle, Harun ends up killing the cab driver. Fearing that this incident could kill his chances of securing his upcoming promotion, he decides against reporting the murder. The next day however, the taxi driver’s dead body is found to be hung from a crane, right outside the police plaza. What will Harun do now? How will he handle this case?
Performances?
Grudge focuses mainly on one character and that is police captain Harun Celiktan. He is portrayed by Yılmaz Erdoğan who puts up a bare minimum of a performance. Granted, he has nothing much to do and the screenplay also hampers his performance, but his acting plays a huge part in slowing down the pace of the film. Cem Yigit Uzümoglu has more to do onscreen, and does a better job on screen. Duygu Sarisin is also striking as the main antagonist.
Analysis
Grudge should have been over after 15 mins. Harun is shown as a diligent, hardworking police captain who cares about doing the right thing and being a family man. The screenplay decides that this very man will not report a killing due to self-defense because he cares about his upcoming promotion – this is not consistent with the character we are shown onscreen. He is barely shown as a person who cares about his promotion; only shown as someone who cares about it when someone asks him about it. This makes no sense. What’s more – this would likely only have delayed him a promotion, not completely made it a complete impossibility.
Despite this major plot error, the main premise of Grudge is good. The second accidental death by Harun’s hands makes the case even more complicated and Tuncay turning out to be Gul’s older brother are twists we did not see coming and it makes the film much more interesting. Or atleast, it would be more interesting if these revelations helped bring about a change of pace onscreen. Instead, these big plot twists just make the Grudge barely watchable.
Even the important scene that takes place in the police interrogation room between Gul and Harun, which is supposed to be exciting, falls very flat on screen. The ending of the very same scene also has a huge plot hle – with chief Cevat taking Harun at his word, especially after he saw Harun lose his temper with Gul. If Grudge had focused on Harun’s greed for his promotion rather than pointing out all of his good qualities throughout the film, a lot of Harun’s unexplainable behavior would make sense. Instead we are shown a “paragon of virtue” doing unexplainable bad things only for the sake of the plot.
The final 15 minutes of Grudge is good, but after an awful hour and thirty minutes – we start hoping for the film to get over soon. It requires a lot of patience and it is the type of movie one would watch if they need an introduction to depressing films (films with sad endings).
Overall, Grudge is a decent film that is too slow paced to watch. While the premise of the film is good, the plot holes and slow reveals make the movie quite uninteresting. Unlike most fast paced crime dramas, this film drags on and can put many to sleep.
Other Artists?
Ahmet Mümtaz Taylan and Ruzgar Aksoy are the only other actors of note in this film. The former plays Harun’s chief and mentor Chief Cevat, while the latter plays Harun’s second-in-command Yadigar. While both actors don’t have much to do, their characters are both vital to the film and they help push the film forward.
Music and Other Departments?
The direction is pretty much the only thing worth talking about. Sure, the film is quite slow and the editing team needed to cut out more unnecessary scenes, but the director worked with what he got. As mentioned earlier, the premise of the story is good, but the final screenplay needed much more work. The OST of the film helps with the pacing, but it is not enough
Highlights?
Good Story
Drawbacks?
Pacing
Uninteresting Plot Twists
Screenplay & Plot Holes
Did I Enjoy It?
It was okay, a one-time watch.
Will You Recommend It?
Watch only if you have nothing else to do. Otherwise, skippable.
Grudge Movie Review by Binged Bureau
We’re hiring!
We are hiring two full-time junior to mid-level writers with the option to work remotely. You need to work a 5-hour shift and be available to write. Interested candidates should email their sample articles to [email protected]. Applications without a sample article will not be considered.
