‘Saudi Trilogy’ Ends With a Whimper

Haifaa al-Mansour’s “Unidentified” is bound to occasion as much dialogue about the cultural context in which the movie plays out than on the pros-and-cons of its cinematic verities. For Westerners, especially, the foreignness of the setting, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, will prove eyebrow-raising given the film’s feminist underpinnings. What else might a cinemaphile expect from a Saudi filmmaker who is not only a woman, but helmed the first movie shot entirely in her native country, “Wadjda” (2012)?That film was a coming-of-age story that recalled Italian Neo-realism in its traversal of documentary means and fictional ends. It racked up a number of international awards, effectively putting Ms. al-Mansour on the map. Her two subsequent pictures, “Mary Shelley” (2017) and “Nappily Ever After” (2018), were, respectively, English and American ventures, and fared less well at the box office and with critics. Was Ms. al-Mansour a fish out of water in these two instances? Returning to Saudi Arabia for the next film, “The Perfect Candidate” (2019), she seemed to regain her footing.“Unidentified” is the final part of the director’s self-stated “Saudi trilogy,” a series of tales that center on “the masks of expectation women wear.” These include physical manifestations like the various coverings worn by Muslim women, as well as ingrained behaviors that result from abiding religious, cultural and tribal mores. Heady stuff, to be sure, particularly for an artist working in a country that is making concerted attempts to modernize a traditional, not to say moribund, culture.“Unidentified” is a police procedural in which the death of a young woman is treated with, if not a blithe disregard, then nowhere near the intensity warranted by our heroine, Noelle, played by Mila Al Zahrani. A functionary at a local precinct, Noelle takes an interest in the case when she’s roped in to help by her boss, Majid (a chummy Shafi Al Harthi). Being new to the area and a recent divorcee, Noelle is eager to try her wits as a potential police recruit. She’s also a loyal listener to a true-crime podcast hosted by an unnamed but glamorous hostess played by Adwa Al Asiri.The playful back-and-forth between Noelle and Majid is reminiscent of the chemistry generated by, believe it or not, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Noelle is constantly overstepping professional and personal boundaries; Majid is invariably frustrated with her. Still, his fondness for Noelle is never in question. Besides, her meddling in police business uncovers some potential leads. A woman’s touch might uncover the identity of the victim and, perhaps, the reason why no one has reported her missing.The script, co-written by Ms. al-Mansour and her husband, Brad Niemann, doesn’t trouble itself overly much with lapses in logic, preferring an untenable thrill ride to anything so mundane as common sense. How Noelle manages a full-time job, conducts a full-time investigation, and still looks ravishing stretches credulity. As for the Saudi police force, they seem more lax than a patriarchal culture would allow. A random rerun of “Law and Order” or “CSI” offers more in the way of invention and verisimilitude.“Unidentified” throws a wrench in the works toward the film’s end, but Ms. al-Mansour and Mr. Niemann don’t exactly earn comparisons with Alfred Hitchcock or M. Night Shyamalan. The screenplay is contrived and the denouement flatly paced. The best parts of the picture are the snippets we see of the aforementioned podcast in which Ms. Al Asiri relates bloody crimes all the while doling out ditsy tips about make-up. It’s enough to make you think Ms. al-Mansour’s true metier is comedy. May I suggest a light-hearted addition to a “Saudi quartet?”

‘Saudi Trilogy’ Ends With a Whimper

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