#Review: Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway

Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway is overwhelming to such an extent that I cried for half the duration of the movie. I think I might have not if I wasn’t a mother. But the excruciating pain my heart felt when Mrs Chatterjee’s 5-month-old daughter was snatched away from her was unbearable. I had to press the pause button on my laptop and come to grips with the fact that I was in a different reality. Imagine the plight of Ms Sagarika, the mother who fought tooth and nail to get her kids back in real life!

Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway is bold, brave, blunt and painful. Gloomy too. There’s so much sadness in Rani Mukherjee’s eyes that her dried-up- tears can put wailers to shame. Her urgency to put across her version of the story, her unheard pleas before the patriarchal men of her family, her never-ending explanations before the welfare community and her daring attempts to kidnap her own children are all palpable. The movie begins with the melange of tender family hugs, vulnerable toddler tantrums and an overworked mother fulfilling the house duties. As the father leaves for work, the mother tries to multitask and manage the house, chores, guests, children and herself. Too much on her plate, isn’t it?

Mrs Chatterjee is shown to be ‘just a housewife’ who moved to Norway with her ambitious husband after marriage, had two children and never (provably) thought of utilising her Bachelor’s degree to find a footing of her own. Her husband, a narcissist, indulges in physical, verbal as well as mental abuse yet the dutiful wife refrains from complaining to anyone. But Norway’s government is smart. Upon getting the information regarding the issues on the domestic front, the government urges the Child Welfare Society to review the Chatterjees’ upbringing methods. Which the couple miserably fails, partly because of different cultural practices and partly because of a misogynistic point of view. While the husband is more worried about his citizenship, Rani tries to get her children back from the authorities. That’s basically the whole movie.

With a perfect script and taut plotting, this movie easily steals 2 hours and 13 minutes of your time and doesn’t make you regret that. Fast-paced, eventful, and laced with unpredictable twists, the movie is enjoyable. Yet there’s a strong sense of anxiety by the time it seals the loose threads. You end up being worried for the real mother and her children. The cinematography is appealing and the bluish colour tone maintained throughout most of the run time adds the much-needed coldness to the overall ambience. Rani Mukherjee is fabulous as Mrs Chatterjee. Anirban and Jim take the sails of this ship forward effectively too.

What didn’t work for me was the role of Mrs Chatterjee’s parents. They were mute witnesses to the whole episode of their daughter’s life falling apart like a house of cards. The acting is horrible. Contribution to the plot is negligible. I felt Abhijeet Dutta had greater relevance than Mrs Chatterjee’s parents in this movie. Nevertheless, I won’t deny that the movie still manages to keep you hooked to your seat.

Go watch it now. It’s streaming on Netflix.

Ciao!