Review: 'The Last Hour' is ambitious, inclusive but has a tad too many discrepancies

Amazon Prime Video might be enjoying the popularity and accolades that shows like Mirzapur and The Family Man enjoy but it continues to venture into different content and has managed to gather immense  viewership. On that note, it presented yet another ambitious and even brave series recently in the form of The Last Hour. Having seen three episodes, here's what I thought of it.

The Plot

Set in the fictitious town of Mangchen, Northeast India, The Last Hour is about how a middle-aged cop Arup (Sanjay Kapoor) is transferred to this town from Mumbai and while he would have anticipated a quieter and far-more relaxed outing here owing to the negligible crime rate, he gets involved in a perplexing and elongated multiple murder case to crack. It involves the supernatural powers that a young shaman (jhakri) possesses along with tackling his own daughter as the two of them have grown apart from owing to his wife's (Raima Sen) mysterious death.

The Good

Right off the bat, there are two things that the show doesn't just deserve plaudits for but also needs to be seen. One is the sheer beauty and zen locales of the North East it portrays. The show is entirely set in the Northeast and managed to capture the scenic beauty, zen mode, peace with brilliance and the colors used throughout the show indicate the mood in the best manner possible. 

And the second reason is inclusivity. While India isn't entirely held responsible for not being diverse or inclusive given the array of religions and cultures are exactly what everybody keeps talking about; it has however, always managed to alienate the Northeast. Not only do the people from the Northeast face constant racism but hardly have we managed to see great talent coming from the different places there. But The Last Hour ensures inclusivity in the best way possible and doesn't hammer you with the fact that they did it. 

The Performances

Almost the entire cast is from the Northeast and they do their jobs well too. But it is the women who shine in the show inspite of the fact that they don't get much screentime. Shahana Goswami is one of those dependable actors you can almost count on her with anything. Here too, with little that she gets to do, she does a fine job as usual. Apart from her, Shaylee Krishen who plays Kapoor's on-screen daughter Pari is amazing too. She is meant to be mysterious yet naive, sad but curious and she does all that with ease. Also, it is just me or she looks exactly like a splitting image of Swastika Mukherjee?

Robin Tamang as the main antagonist is decent too while Raima Sen's true mystery might only be revealed in the later episodes. Overall, the cast do put in a sincere effort to make this world believable.

The Last Hour tackles a brave concept of going into the dead's world and understanding what went wrong just one hour before they died because post that, apparently souls have left the body. These concepts are more often than not mocked upon owing to the supernatural element it showcases and apart from that as to how ridiculous it sounds. But that isn't entirely a problem here. The Last Hour tried hard, almost too hard to make sense of its concept and succeeds to a few levels too.

You buy into this world which is constantly reminded of the real world as well - thanks to the characters that Sanjay Kapoor and Shahana Goswami portray. Coming to the main performances, Kapoor does a decent job being the leading face around which everything is spun around and Karma Takapa, who plays Dev, the other male lead has done fairly well too.

However, you find yourself willing to like it, almost entirely wanting to rate it amongst the best but at times, the ambition is absolute but the execution and screenplay isn't.

The Verdict

The Last Hour might have some flaws but needs to be watched and given a chance for the sheer inclusivity that it practices and taking a tour of the beautiful Northeast while at the comfort at your homes.

Rating - *** (3/5)