100 Nights of Hero

If you filter The Handmaid’s Tale and the Arabian Nights mythology through a cheesy romcom lens, you might get 100 Nights of Hero, an uneven empowerment saga that thankfully is much shorter than its title suggests.

This visually striking yet tonally messy feminist satire crafts a playful fantasy world that carries ominous and oppressive undertones, as it lampoons the absurdities of patriarchal control and authoritarianism.

However, the offbeat ambitions are undercut by a parade of cartoonish exaggerations and over-the-top gags. Rather than working in tandem, the broad comedy and deeper subtext seem at odds, effectively canceling one another out.

The story takes place in a repressive society where marriages are traditionally arranged and expectations for illiterate women becoming obedient mothers and domestic caretakers are enforced.

The setting is non-specific, but there are three moons in the sky, people wear strange hats and cheap masks, and characters speak English in an assortment of accents.

At any rate, much of the action centers on Cherry (Maika Monroe), a socialite whose dismissive husband (Amir El Masry) goes away on a supposed business trip after being given an ultimatum from village elders for failing to produce offspring.

During his absence, he entrusts macho confidant Manfred (Nicholas Galitzine) to check in on Cherry. And before long, Manfred’s impulses get the best of him.

Yet Manfred’s clear runway toward a passionate affair is blocked by Hero (Emma Corrin), Cherry’s maid and best friend. Hero has a dark and mysterious side with a unique knack for storytelling — and a desire to deliver Manfred his comeuppance, hopefully with Cherry’s blessing.

Aside from some scattered big laughs, the screenplay by Julia Jackman, adapted from Isabel Greenberg’s graphic novel, ignores the logical gaps in its world-building and encourages moviegoers to do the same.

Emotional depth and thematic complexity remain elusive in part because the film lacks subtlety while funneling toward a rather obvious resolution.

Still, there’s more intrigue in the second half with a twist that deepens the bond of the two women and enables them to gain power from their camaraderie and determination in the face of subjugation.

Like its title character, there’s an underlying sweetness to 100 Nights of Hero, which nevertheless winds up more silly than substantial.

Rated PG-13, 91 minutes.