Kelly plays the role of Mea Harper, a criminal defense attorney who takes on a new client, Zyair Malloy, played by Trevante Rhodes, who is accused of killing his girlfriend Hydie. Mea is in a rocky marriage and is immediately drawn to Zyair, who is handsome, cocky, and a talented painter. She tries to keep things professional, but Zyair keeps tempting her, and he knows it. Not only that, he may or may not be a murderer. Evidence keeps getting stacked up against him, such as a video of his girlfriend saying that he might kill her to old girlfriends, revealing his proclivity for kinky sex. Zyair looks guilty, but it’s Mea’s job to prove his innocence.

When it comes to Mea’s marriage, it’s deeper than just her and her husband Kal. Her husband, who is an anesthesiologist, lost his job after arriving at work on drugs and refuses to tell his family. His brother Ray (fun fact: they’re brothers in real life) is the assistant district attorney and is representing the case against Zyair. Ray is also married to P-Valleystar Shannon Thorton’s character Charlise. Then we have the brothers’ mother Azalia who is a piece of work. It’s clear that she nor Ray likes Mea, but to take a step further, their mother keeps bringing another woman around Kal in an attempt to get them together. However, Kal keeps making excuses for his mom because she has cancer.

Mea hires a private investigator, Jimmy, played by RonReaco Lee, to help her with her case. However, he’s also been spying on Kal, leading him to see Kal walk into a hotel room with the woman Kal’s mom has been trying to set him up with. This infuriates Mea, and she finally gives in to Zyair. They have a passionate night of sex, which involves them rolling around in paint. And let me tell you, that was a scene!

However, what was a sexual high turned into a nightmare for Mea when she finally arrived home and found out that her husband, in fact, didn’t cheat on her. She later interviewed Zyair’s ex, who began asking her questions about her relationship with Zyair, which made Mea realize she was being played. She rushed to Zyair’s to find the portrait he painted of her and pulled it down, which revealed several other portraits of women, including his ex that has the words "die bitch you ruined my life" written on it. So, she pulls herself off the case.

However, Ray got a call from the judge about Mea taking herself off the case because of an inappropriate relationship and told the family. She leaves the country and goes to the Dominican Republic for a little R&R, but during her vacation, she runs into Heidi working at the resort. She calls Jimmy and Ray, and Ray begs her to come back home.

When she arrived, Ray, Charlise, and Azalia were all waiting for her. They were acting strange and making excuses as to why Kal wasn’t there. She gets an email from Jimmy, which reveals that Azalia's cancer diagnosis is fake. She ends up going into a dark room where she sees a painting of Charlise and it all starts making sense to her. Ray and Azalia begin attacking her, but Charlise tries to help Mea, but she ultimately gets killed in the crossfire. Mea tries to escape and runs into Kal, who is driving down the street.

She tells him everything that happened, but she figures out he is also in on the plan. She takes over the steering wheel and crashes his car into a truck, and she is able to escape. The movie ends with Zyair getting out of jail with the charges dropped and Mea seeming to start a new chapter.

The film’s twists and turns take us on a wild ride that leaves us clutching our pearls but yearning for more. I enjoyed the movie from beginning to end, and so far, this is one of the best movies I’ve seen since the year began.

Mea Culpa | Official Trailer | Netflix

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