Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Woman reinvents herself in Dutch comedy; language.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Meskina
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Writer Leyla (Maryam Hassouni), 30, is trying to be a modern woman in her family's adopted Netherlands, but the traditions of Muslim Morocco remain embedded in her and her pushy and meddling extended brood. After her marriage to a childhood friend who made good as a music producer fails, she is gun-shy and is treated as an old maid -- a beautiful old maid, but still one to be pitied. Her over-the-top widowed mom (Rachida Iaallala) falls back on traditions of arranged marriages to find her a suitable mate, a handsome Moroccan named Amin (Nasdrin Dchar). At the same time, her more assimilated sister Amira (Soundos El Ahmadi) registers Leyla on dating apps and finds her Fabian (Vincent Banic), a good-looking blond, blue-eyed Dutch date. Leyla hits it off in a big way with both men. Who, if anyone, will she choose?
Is It Any Good?
Ultimately Meskina promotes the important message that conformity may not be the best option for everyone, but it gets there via the clichés and conventions it seeks to upend. Clever and amusing moments pop up, but overambition gets in the way. That our hero wants to be her own woman at the end comes as a surprise unconnected to her previous actions. It's fun and then alarming to watch Leyla go from dating no one at all to being deeply involved with two men at the same time. Her insensitivity to them changes our view of her from positive to negative, and that's how the movie loses its allure. Is this My Big Fat Moroccan Wedding or a serious meditation on the status of women in the world? Is it a satire of arranged marriage? A satire of a world of dating apps? Of the idea of love? Of the restrictive ideals women create for themselves?
Leyla is the one who calls her life a "fairy tale" and refers to herself as a princess. As she willingly embraces these tropes, she also blames society for imposing them on her. She shares that weak epiphany implausibly before a large audience of strangers, a group that in real life would never listen to her embarrassing confession.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the movie's mixed message. Do you think that Leyla dating two men at the same time shows that she's a powerful woman? Or that she's being inconsiderate to two well-meaning men?
How well does this succeed at being a comedy while also sending a serious message about women's roles?
Leyla seems happy with both of the men she is dating. Does the movie make a convincing case that she will be happy alone? Why, or why not?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : March 4, 2022
- Cast : Maryam Hassouni , Nasdrin Dchar , Vincent Banic
- Director : Daria Bukvic
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Comedy
- Run time : 94 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : March 22, 2022
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