10 Days of a Bad Man review: Too many plot twists dampen delight of this Turkish thriller

3/5

STORY: Battered by his own painful past, a grieving and injured private investigator does his best to unravel a murder mystery. While doing so, he is accompanied by an unsolicited love interest and a couple of loyalists.   

REVIEW: A visibly wearied middle-aged man is driving his dusty SUV through a barren desert highway. Moments later, the speeding vehicle overturns, jolting you out of your seat. Yes, that’s how the story of Sadik Adil Öçal (Nejat Isler) begins. Turkish director Uluç Bayraktar’s crime-mystery, action film 10 Days of a Bad Man (Kötü Adamin 10 Günü), which is now streaming on Netflix, is also a comedy-drama in equal parts. Sadik is a former lawyer, who (god knows how!) survived the deadly accident, with just a broken arm and a tailbone injury. 

The plot fast-tracks to a few weeks later when ‘battered, broken and bereaved’ Sadik, who is also a private investigator, appears to be in debt to a gangster (Erdal Yildiz). Unable to repay on time, Sadik is now bound to take up a complicated case, putting his own life and well-being at risk. Nevertheless, he agrees to it in exchange for some addictive painkillers. Provided with a plush apartment, a gun and two phones, Sadik is set on a mission to unravel a mystery, flanked by two accomplices - Zeynel (Riza Kocaoglu) and Hüso (Kadir Çermik). 

But there is a backstory. Although the protagonist’s life has never been peaceful and happy, he did manage to put things in order for a while when he married a woman much younger to him and they started a family together. However, things don’t go too well for a long time and she passes away during childbirth. Heckled and disillusioned, Sadik has been trying to lead a normal life ever since, but failed miserably every time.

Back to the case he’s been handed by the ganglord, Sadik also gets help from a spunky teenager named Pinar (Ilayda Akdogan). While he is still unravelling this mystery, Sadik takes up another case that involves the murder of a rich man. Interestingly, this mansion murder is connected to the other case he is chasing. While on it, he comes across the family’s foster daughter Buket Köseoglu (Hazal Filiz Küçükköse). A medical practitioner, she too helps him with the painkillers. Things, however, backfire when certain unpleasant findings come to the fore after days of investigation. Meanwhile, Sadik is in the quest of an ‘imagination’, whom he is often found seeking out in his dreams. 

And all of these things unfold in a matter of 10 days. Hence, the title 10 Days of a Bad Man. The Uluç directorial is the second instalment of the 10 Days trilogy. Although the narrative seems more convoluted than convincing, Nejat plays a compelling and compassionate character. He is grieving himself, yet makes it the mission of his life to solve the case at hand with intelligence and determination. So much so, Zeynel and Hüso eventually leave the ganglord and divert their loyalty toward Sadik. Pitting the very perky Pinar as Sadik’s love interest seems a little absurd, but Ilayda does justice to the role she essays in the larger scheme of things. Luxurious cars, plush settings and some slick action sequences keep you hooked to this not-so-thrilling Turkish mystery drama, which time and again also provides you with comic relief. 

VERDICT: 10 Days of a Bad Man is a good one time watch. Despite the use of some interesting plot devices, the movie is failed by a poor script and a lack of detailing. Marred by too many twists and juggling acts, this Turkish thriller is less than a delight. Nonetheless, Nejat shines through this often predictable crime mystery drama, laced with some quirky yet empathetic characters.