Dominic and the Ladies' Purse (2025) Movie Review: A Delightful Mammootty in a Not-So-Delightful Detective Drama

Sherlock Holmes-inspired detective films have been plentiful, with different interpretations of Holmes and Watson. In “Dominic and the Ladies’ Purse,” Gautham Vasudev Menon takes on the classic Sherlock Holmes detective saga and spins a story around the duo in his style that sometimes lands and sometimes doesn’t. But for the times it does, Mammootty deserves major credit for making it feel alive and kicking.

It is a detective drama where a voluntarily retired cop who runs a detective agency to solve immaterial and silly cases to meet his daily needs meets a filthy rich (in Dominic’s own words) young man, Vikky who wishes to assist him. If what drives Vikky is his interest in true crime, detective movies, and noir thrillers, not having to pay him aplenty is why Dominic hires him. Initially, wide-eyed Vikky gets to know Dominic through his own words where he boasts about his high-profile investigation victories. Eventually, he gets to see different sides of Dominic – the funny, goofy, selfish, braggart, and vulnerable as the duo predictably lands on a case where there’s more than what meets the eye.

Unarguably the driving force of the film is Mammootty as Dominic. His presence oozes charisma, star-lit aura, and experience, each time he graces the screen, which is pretty much the entire duration of the film. The actor immerses in a role that truly can be worked around by only him with his under-appreciated brand of self-deprecating humor. The writing puts in ample effort to show the audience who Dominic might be and what Dominic tells us about him. A VRS cop who has lost a lot in his life, from family to career but is grounded, a little selfish, and irredeemable at least on the outside.

Dominic takes up silly cheating cases for some extra money to meet his expenses. He lands on the ladies’ purse case because of a debt he owes his lovely landowner. Initially reluctant to get into the complexities of the case, money drives him to pursue the case further putting even his life at stake. The audience sees and knows Dominic only as much as the writing permits us. He may even be something else altogether, but someone who means no harm.

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One of the major pitfalls of “Dominic And the Ladies’ Purse” is that it latches a lot onto its charismatic protagonist and his chemistry with Gokul Suresh (Vikky). Tamil filmmaker Gautham Vasudev Menon in his debut Malayalam outing seems to have entirely lost the plot in executing the mystery around the ladies’ purse while trying to subvert accustomed tropes of his filmography. Akin to Gautham Vasudev Menon’s previous films (“Vettaiyadu Vilaiyadu”), a charismatic 50s-something Dominic meets Nanditha – a beautiful Bharatanatyam dancer clad in sarees in her late 20s almost distracting us with a boring prospective romance between the duo. But, he cleverly subverts this trope with the climactic showdown. But does the climax make up for the predictable plotlines throughout the investigation? Not really. It gets into a problematic zone but unfortunately becomes the only notable aspect of the stale film besides its lead actors.

“Dominic And the Ladies’ Purse” meets a tragic fall during the investigation, but a delightful Mammootty as Dominic taking jibes at his filmography is enough to make you hoot and smile wide. When the actor does self-deprecating humor, he shines at his goofiest and charismatic best. Characters in Megham, Pranchiyettan & the Saint, and Azhagiya Ravanan are excellent examples. He unarguably salvages Dominic, while Gautham Vasudev Menon is visibly confused about where to take his hero and story next.

Dominic and the Ladies' Purse (2025) - hof1 — A still from “Dominic and the Ladies’ Purse” (2025)

Gokul Suresh as Vignesh aka Vikky fits well in the inquisitive, amateur-assistant-to-veteran-detective palette. However, he is not offered any significant material to explore beyond the assistant mold. Sushmitha Bhatt’s Nanditha is a quintessential Gautham Vasudev Menon movie heroine but with a twist. She lends enough grace, mystery, and gravitas to the character and her scenes make an impact if not the maximum. Neeraj Rajan, Sooraj Rajan, and Gautham Menon’s screenplay does a fine job of establishing Dominic for who he is, with a mix of black, white, and gray, but falters beyond redemption once the duo pursues the ladies’ purse case. Darbuka Siva’s music is questionable considering the grounded nature of the film, but he almost hits the mark in the pre-climactic confrontation scene.

In short, “Dominic And the Ladies’ Purse” is written as an origin story for Detective Dominic and Vikky, his Watson. But does the origin story deliver what it promises early on? No. Does the origin story make you root for Dominic and Vikky? Absolutely yes. Overall, “Dominic And the Ladies’ Purse” is a classic example of an actor trying his best to carry the dead weight of the film by punching above his weight.