‘Unidentified’ Review: Saudi Maverick Haifaa al-Mansour Crafts a Dull Murder Mystery

The director of ‘Wadjda’ stumbles while using a detective saga to comment on Saudi society.

By Siddhant Adlakha

Siddhant Adlakha

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Despite having a lot on its mind, Haifaa al-Mansour’s murder mystery “Unidentified” is an unfortunate misfire. The Saudi trailblazer — whose 2012 drama “Wadjda” was the first feature shot entirely in the Kingdom, and the first Saudi film by a woman — returns with what ought to be a searing indictment of gendered norms under the guise of nominal progress, via its tale of a police secretary investigating the death of a teenage girl. It has the right ingredients on paper, but its execution is ineffectual: both overstated and under-dramatized en route to a head-scratching conclusion.

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