10 Days of a Good Man: Transition of a good guy to a bad guy is what signifies the movie

This is one of those films where you need to concentrate on the screen to ensure you get the meaning of the small references and you do not miss the context.

Hyderabad: One advantage of films releasing on the OTT is one gets to view international films – Turkish, Korean, French and the likes. One is not limited to the various “woods”.

This time around, it is in a country where the East meets the West – Turkey. Based on Mehmet Eroğlu’s novel of the same name, 10 Days of a Good Man deals with the story of harmless, self-sacrificing, trustworthy, virtuous, and moral Sadik and his escapades.

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The film begins with a gruesome murder. The body is buried in the woods and then we set Sadik (Nejat Isler), who wanders along a beach in an island that is part of a recurring dream for him. Sadik is now under the employment of solicitor Maide (Esra Ronabar) as a private investigator.

Sadik used to be her law partner. Sadik has been disbarred from practice for being convicted of a crime committed by his ex-wife Rezzan (Nur Fettahoglu). Madie’s house help’s son Tevfik (Ata Artman) is missing and Sadik is enlisted to track him. Who is Sadik, and will he be able to trace the missing man is what the rest of the story is about. Assisting him in his escapades are Tevfik’s sister, Pinar (Ilayda Akdogan), a.k.a. The Schoolgirl, an out-of-work actress, Meral (Senay Gurler) and his assistant/lover Seval or Fatma (Ilayda Alisan).

Director Uluç Bayraktar parallelly shows us the life of Sadik and his investigative techniques. Sadik’s character is inspired by the detective Philip Marlowe character from detective novels and noir films.

The plot moves at a reasonable pace with the typical ‘one thing leads to another’. Luckily, Bayraktar has enough templates to lean back on and ensures that there is no bitter taste. Even though the characters and subplots are not appropriately addressed, the narrative is compelling.

This is one of those films where you need to concentrate on the screen to ensure you get the meaning of the small references and you do not miss the context. The director also deals with the problems that women face – be it Pinar being pimped by her brother or showing Seval who in spite of leaving her past profession behind, is still frowned upon for having worked as a prostitute. Though slow at times, the narrative ensures a seamless ride. Kudos to the editing team.

One thing that works against the film is the English dubbing. It sounds artificial and at few instances the emotive content is lost. Every day in the movie has its own significance in shaping Sadik at the end of Day 10. The transition of a good guy to a bad guy (the second outing) is what signifies the movie.

The film belongs to Nejat Isler and he delivers. He emotes Sadik to perfection. The others give him good support. Watch it.