Parents' Guide to Accused

Accused is often gripping even if it fails to execute on tying together a raggedy array of loose threads and vague premises. Is Dr. Sen's problem that she's mean and seems to enjoy humiliating subordinates publicly when she could easily sort things out privately? Or is this the story of an ambitious woman who has worked hard to earn her position and doesn't want anyone to get away with working less hard than she did? Or perhaps she's a feminist defender of the right of powerful women to act just as badly as men in power have long acted. Is she a victim of prejudice as a woman, lesbian, and Indian? Is she wrongly accused of sexually predatory acts?

The director, who says the idea of a movie about a female sexual predator was given to her by Netflix's creative team, added the many complications noted above, and those red herrings reveal much but don't solve the mystery. The movie could have ended when the sexual abuse case is resolved through the dogged investigative work of Geetika and Meera. Instead, the director devotes the last eight minutes or so to allowing Geetika to explain herself, as if the filmmaker understood all the ways in which the movie has spread itself too thin and needed an explanatory wrap-up, a dull way to conclude a convoluted mystery. So it's a tribute to all involved—director, writers, and cast—that despite the fact the movie can't make up its mind on what it's about, it's nevertheless highly watchable. The biggest problem remains its unlikable main character. She may be enlightened by the incident, but she's still rude, mean, and selfish. Maybe she will change.