| Mea Culpa | |
|---|---|
 Release poster | |
| Directed by | Tyler Perry |
| Written by | Tyler Perry |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Cory Burmester |
| Edited by | Larry Sexton |
| Music by |
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Production company | Tyler Perry Studios |
| Distributed by | Netflix |
Release date |
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Running time | 120 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Mea Culpa is a 2024 American legal thriller film written and directed by Tyler Perry. The film stars Kelly Rowland as a criminal defense attorney, who takes the case of an artist (played by Trevante Rhodes), who is accused of murdering his girlfriend. The film also stars Sean Sagar, Nick Sagar, RonReaco Lee, Shannon Thornton and Angela Robinson. The film was released by Netflix on February 23, 2024.
Plot[edit]
Lawyer Mea Harper is experiencing a marital crisis with her husband Kal Hawthorne, embarking on couples therapy. The crisis arose after Mea discovered that her husband was going out holding the hand of another woman, a childhood girlfriend whom his mother favors. Mea's husband was fired from his job as a nurse anesthetist a few months ago because he was under the influence of drugs and drunk while working.
Mea took on as a client the artist Zyair Malloy, who is accused of killing his girlfriend and is being prosecuted by District Attorney Ray Hawthorne, Kal's brother. During their meetings Malloy begins to seduce Mea, who is trying through a series of psychological tricks to understand the innocence or guilt of her client. Mea, troubled by the situation, comes into more and more contact with Malloy, allowing herself to be seduced and infatuated.
Cast[edit]
- Kelly Rowland as Mea
- Trevante Rhodes as Zyair
- Nick Sagar as Ray
- Sean Sagar as Kal
- RonReaco Lee as Jimmy
- Shannon Thornton as Charlise
- Kerry O'Malley as Azalia
- Arianna Barron as Jenna
- Connor Weil as Bobby
- Angela Robinson as Renee
Production[edit]
In February 2023, it was reported that Kelly Rowland would produce and star in the legal thriller Mea Culpa written, produced, and directed by Tyler Perry.[2][3] Trevante Rhodes, Sean Sagar, Nick Sagar and RonReaco Lee were also cast.[4] Principal photography began on March 6, 2023, in Atlanta at the Tyler Perry Studios,[5] with a few days in Chicago, and wrapped on March 26.
Release[edit]
Mea Culpa premiered at the Paris Theater in New York City on February 15, 2024.[8] It was released by Netflix on February 23, 2024.[9]
Reception[edit]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 20% of 5 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.2/10.[10] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 35 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[11]
Lisa Kennedy of The New York Times describe the film "willfully steamy, decidedly silly thriller". The writer reflected that Rowland "commits to the thankless task of playing a smart woman gone stupid" while Rhodes "can’t do much with Zyair, whose affect is more flat than seductive".[12] Murtada Elfadl of Variety wrote that "many will write it off as shlock, and yet, there’s something admirable about a filmmaker who knows exactly what his audience wants." Even if "Rowland and Rhodes have no chemistry" and the scenes shows "anything resembling real life", Edfadl affirmed that the film "should work for anyone familiar with Perry’s oeuvre".[13]
