I will try to keep the yawn away from you and drop the hat, from the get go! If you haven't watched A Deadly American Marriage, then it is best to wrap up your movie marathon with iHostage, followed by The Diplomat before finally settling on a horrific crime scene, quite aghast, to complete the first of half 2025 successfully.
Here is a break-down of the triad:
First up is the beautiful creation of iHostage as a film, also a Dutch thriller based on the true story of a hostage situation that took place in Leidseplein, Amsterdam. – Well, for the record, I say it was beautiful because to me, the entire colour scheme applied on the film was not just sombre but awfully cool with its deep blues and whimsical grey. Putting art aside (for a second) — iHostage is directed by Bobby Boermans, who was at the time of incident, lived near the Apple store where this five hour long crisis shocked the Netherlands.
Starring Soufiane Moussouli in the lead as Ammar Ajar, the film immediately begins by inviting its viewers into a ‘just another day’ in Amsterdam setting from the Bulgarian hostage's point of view played by Admir Šehović. For sure, it turns out that; it is indeed not another day and instead, a day the Dutch might remember it to be as ‘when’ the apple was half eaten up. Initially identified as a robbery inside the Leidseplein Apple Store, it was soon discovered that Ammar had a larger than life plan.
Reports say, that the situation escalated into a standoff and that the suspect had contacted the police himself during the hostage-taking and demanded a ransom of €200 million ($226 million) in cryptocurrencies and safe passage out of the building. Though the film depicted the true incident, what truly become satiating as a member of the audience is the slow folds of humanity that Boermans had carefully tucked into some of the scenes. It almost seemed like a bitter nostalgia that Moussouli had led with so much brilliance, that you really can't emote hate even if you try and it is a little bit frustrating all at once – which then encapsulates the victory of creating tension in the film. I loved it, in an art-sense where thriving exist mostly in chaos and considering that this is an actual anecdote that happened during our collective reality in year 2022, I also left the film feeling honestly saddened. It really is a must-watch.
Now, you can't be enough or ready or ready and enough for my next suggestion. If you're a John Abraham fan, you are not going to hover about wondering whether you would want to watch The Diplomat. Before you know it, you are already in the Indian embassy. You're in Pakistan. You're probably even John himself at this point.
I am just not too sure about the moustache. That aside, this is apparently a true story that I would have never known if it wasn't for a John Abraham fan. I enjoyed it really, it was well-paced and had an extraordinary surprise element. According to ‘The Diplomat’ movie review, ‘In 2017, Uzma Ahmed made headlines when she was rescued from her abusive Pakistani husband by the Indian High Commission officials under the supervision of the then Minister of External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj.’
Abraham plays the role of diplomat JP Singh who had at that time, according to the film's narrative, chose to shelter Uzma in the Indian High Commission in Pakistan when she had managed to convince the officials that she had to marry at gun point only after realising that her boyfriend whom she met in Malaysia, was not the person he was while they were dating in Malaysia.
From an outsider's point of view, I thought that is an incredibly interesting story and in fact, I also felt that my reality as a Malaysian is far from that of an Indian and Pakistani. I was really alienated from it all honestly but any new information, personally works for me if it is at a pace that meets my expectation.
So it is obvious, that the aforementioned stories are true in its nature even as films but as for A Deadly American Marriage, it is largely a crime-documentary and a film based on the life of Jason Corbett – A father of two young children and his second marriage to a woman named Molly, that subsequently led to his tragic demise in August of 2015.
Anything more that I am to write about this documentary is going to cause you doubts, speculations and perhaps a conclusion — hence I believe it is only right that I pass on my thinking hat over to you. I watched it entirely in one sitting and I have to say that it reminded me about the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard case that took social media by storm, once upon a time.
I still ponder about what is life or what life is when I stop wondering. Maybe you can tell me, Sherlock.
Nina Nanthini is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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