Diary of a mad Mumbai housewife

Radhika Apte stars in “Sister Midnight.” (Magnet Releasing)

Review by Ty Burr (3 stars)

Startling, dreamlike, frustrating, funny — Karan Kandhari’s debut feature, “Sister Midnight,” is an absolute original. Which doesn’t mean this diary of a mad Mumbai newlywed doesn’t have its antecedents and influences. In interviews, the British Indian director has spoken of his love for Buster Keaton and Jacques Tati, and the film’s careful framing of explosively reactive slapstick evokes both classic film comedy and the deadpan precision of Wes Anderson. Yet there are darker sources that take “Sister Midnight” in disturbing, elliptical directions reminiscent of Roman Polanski’s “Repulsion” and Ana Lily Amirpour’s “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night.”

Seeing all these styles put to use in a hectic Mu