A hit? A miss? A fail? The “worst Netflix movie ever?” Or is it simply a good movie with a misunderstood and slightly flawed storyline? You decide but I took time off to watch it, so you don’t have to (especially if you are a fan of spoilers).
Mea Culpa, Latin for “through my fault,” is a legal thriller fresh out of the Tyler Perry and Netflix Studios’ oven. A juicy tale centered around a murder case involving a talented yet womanising artist Zyair Malloy, standing accused of killing his girlfriend after a 6-month relationship, and Mea Harper, taking up the case as his criminal defense attorney, amidst objections from her in-laws.
Buckle up as the plot thickens, we are taking you through the good, the bad, and the not-so-ugly!
The good
Cast
Character-wise, some actors were a 10 but alas, the storyline didn’t do them justice.
Starring Kelly Rowland as Mea Harper, the impeccably dressed defense attorney who served more looks than legal terms.
Trevante Rhodes comes in as Zyair Malloy, a psychopathic, arrogant, and sexy smooth-talking artist who’s got lust in his heart, and a predatory quest for women.
Mea Harper’s husband – Kal (Sean Sagar) and in-laws, Ray (brother-in-law), Azalia (mother-in-law) and Charlise (Ray’s wife and Mea’s friend) are the typical example of “a thorn in the flesh.” You could sense that they strongly disliked her but the opposition didn’t hold much water and was somewhat unrealistic.
Jimmy (RonReaco Lee), Mea’s private investigator friend, didn’t show much of what his character could be but he gave off the aura of wanting to badly leave the bro zone at all cost and get with Mea (but we will never know).
Style
Let’s just say that out of all the characters, Mea Harper never failed to make back-to-back fashion statements with every outfit. In summary, you can say she gave it to us hot hot.
Suspense
While we may have been left wondering if Zyair Malloy was guilty or not, or if Mea was going to take up the case after many objections, this legal thriller gave a 30-70 ‘edge of the seat’ kind of suspense. 30 for the suspense level and 70 for its lack of suspense.
The Bad
Predictability
From the start of the movie, we knew that Zyair Malloy and Mea Harper would get down and dirty. It wasn’t rocket science but it was pretty spicy.
As the deck of cards crumbled, it felt much anticipated. Of course, her husband didn’t end up cheating, even though he was in a hotel with his female childhood friend, but it was obvious that Mea was going to get caught cheating (in the most hilarious way, might I add).
High predictability? Check!
Ridiculousness in some parts of the story? Double check…
Poor Character Development
I will rate this movie in character development a 2/10.
Two (2) because I believe that the cast was rushed and never really got adequate time to immerse themselves in their characters.
Faulty Storyline
Don’t get me started because if I begin, it might turn out to be dirtier than a Lagos danfo bus.
The ending was shady – like why is Zyair still flirting with Mea at the end? Why was there never a court scene? What happened to her in-laws after the fight? There are many more questions but let’s put a cap on it.
The Not-So-Ugly
Rating-wise, Mea Culpa got a 4.1/10 rating on IMDb, 33% on Metacritic, and 25% on Rotten Tomatoes, but, I promise to be more lenient because I enjoyed the movie despite its poor storyline.
I give the movie a 5.5/10 rating and recommend it for a weekend watch especially if you are bored.
Let’s Talk About Tyler Perry
Tyler Perry’s films are known for their humor and controversy. “Mea Culpa” joins the ranks, stirring the pot like the Madea series, Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor, and the 2018 shocker “Acrimony.” Dive in and brace yourself for a wild ride!
P.S. Dive in at your own risk.
