The Grifters (1990)

Director: Stephen Frears
Writers: Jim Thompson (novel), Donald E. Westlake
DOP: Oliver Stapleton
Cast: Anjelica Huston, John Cusack, Annette Benning

A small-time conman has torn loyalties between his estranged mother and new girlfriend-- both of whom are high-stakes grifters with their own angles to play.

I decided on watching the film after doing a simple Google search of neo-noir films and the name of the director seemed familiar (Philomena, High Fidelity). It turned out to be an adaptation of a Jim Thompson novel whose another novel was recently adapted as 'Killer Inside Me' which is a favorite of mine. The film has a very play like feel to it and the color tone and settings reminded me of Robert Altman's 'The Player'. It doesn't do any spoon-feeding at the beginning and it takes a while for you to figure out what their game plan is. John Cusack's character is playing short cons, while his girlfriend is in it for the long game. His mother is doing it professionally by massaging the odds for a menacing bookmaker. Both the mother and the girlfriend are stylistically similar in appearance which suggests the Oedipal nature of the relationships that becomes quite apparent towards the end.

There are many films featuring con-men but they tend to be always about a big con that they are trying to pull. This one is a bit different and is more of a character study. Both the leading ladies got Oscar nominations for the film and they do outshine John Cusack. It is a very good watch even though it takes a bit of time to get going.

Rating: 3.5/5

ഈ കണ്ണി കൂടി (Ee Kannikoodi) (1990)

Director: K. G. George
Writers:  K. S. Bhasurachandran, K. G.  George
Cast:       Saikumar, Ashwini, Thilakan
Language: Malayalam

The film follows an investigation into the murder of a high-end prostitute. She was found dead in her house and the police goes through the suspect list, initially from her clientele, and later on to people from her past life as they begin to dwell deeper.

The film can be described as an investigative procedural whose USP is that the treatment is very characteristically non-filmy. It is nice to contrast it with a film like 'Oru CBI Diarykurippu', which is typically classed as a realistic film even though it had many elements to please a normal film audience. Sai Kumar plays the role of the investigating officer and his portrayal can be described as the one of the most realistic Police role from Malayalam cinema with a very professional and dispassionate demeanor. It is filmed in a very stripped-down manner and if it came out even now, it would still be classed as a very bold film. You don't usually get films that doesn't get over the top when it has got characters making a living out from this kind of background. It is normal for such films to finally get into the exploitative parts as explanation for its protagonist's transformation but the film stands out due to its matter of fact portrayal of it.

The film must have been a very low-budget one and it is sometimes let down by some poor acting performances and some extreme reliance on spoken words for moving the story forward. It is nowhere near K.G. George's best but still a good watch. 

Rating: 3/5  

കുട്ടേട്ടൻ (Kuttettan) (1990)

Director: Joshi
Writer:    Lohithadas
Cast:       Mammootty, Jagadish, Thilakan, Murali
Language: Malayalam

Vishnu/Kuttettan (Mammootty) is a rich planter living in a hill-station and trying to lead a life of a bachelor while his mother and wife lives in his hometown. He is a womanizer and to make matters worse, most of his pursuits can be categorized as bordering on the peado-category. While he is struggling to actually fulfill his pursuits, he meets a much senior fellow (Thilakan) with similar interests and approach him to mentor him. They arrange him a 15-year-old girl, whom is taken to his house only to be discovered by his family who made a surprise visit. To escape from the situation, he lies to them that the girl is in fact his daughter from an affair that he had prior to his marriage. To complicate the situation further, his family adopts her into the fold, creating conflict between him, his mentor and their pimp (Murali).

Whether you rate the film or not would depend upon whether you see Mammootty's character as a heroic lead or not. For all intends and purposes, it is really a negative role and I don't know whether it was written to be perceived as such at the time of its release. Even by liberal standards, he is really a piece of shit character whose pursuits are largely exploitative in nature. Mammootty has a penchant for playing such roles in a comedic manner and his role in 'Azhakiya Ravanan' is another such example. Kuttettan is a 42-year-old good looking man married to an average looking woman, an alliance that looks to have been arranged by the elders rather than out of love. They can't conceive a child but the clever thing done by the writer is that he doesn't explicitly use those as a justification for the character's actions. It is as if he would have done the same things even if he was in a happy marriage. This is made even more clear in the last scene of the film when he winks at a nurse who is taking care of him after an accident. 

Overall it is a very good watch with an excellent first half of the film and an alright but convoluted second half. Mammootty should be praised for accepting such a negative role, even if he didn't realize it to be so or if it wasn't perceived as such at the time of its release. Kuttettan is not much different from the role of Pattelar he did in 'Vidheyan'. I liked the fact that the the makers opted to do the social commentary in a subtle manner without giving the audience a sermon on things. His martial status comes as a twist in the film, which makes the first half of the film relatable to all kinds of people. I would've liked it even more if they had kept his feelings towards the girl at the end in an ambiguous manner with a deliberate nod to 'Lolita'. I thought that would have been more interesting than the conflict between him and his pimp. Still, it is a very good watch as long as you don't consider the main character to be heroic in any sense. I do think the writer wanted it to be a negative role and there is even a product placement from Snuggy (Nappies for kids), which I found to be ironically funny, during a song sequence. Mammootty is generally at his best when he plays rich, arrogant but foolish characters and this one can be added to that.

Rating: 3.5/5

                                                                          

Metropolitan (1990)

Director: Whit Stillman
Writer:    Whit Stillman
Cast:       Carolyn Farina, Edward Clements, Chris Eigeman

A group of young upper-class Manhattanites are blithely passing through the gala debutante season, when an unusual outsider joins them and stirs them up. 

I am not familiar with Jane Austen's work and I don't think I have seen any of the films that were adapted from her books. But I do have a vague idea about what it entails and this film has been described as a post-Austen work. I came across this film through an Indiewire article which described it to be an influence on the works of Richard Linklater and Noah Baumbach. That should be a reason enough to check out this little indie-hit from the 90s. Bourgeoisie is something that gets mocked in many of my favorite films and this film does a genre-bender on that, with having people from that class (self proclaimed as 'Urban Haute Bourgeoisie') discuss the pressures that they face and fret about downward-mobility. You have one character in it saying how he was looking forward to Luis Bunuel's 'Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie', thinking that it will be a film that appreciates the qualities of their class, going by the title. Film is laugh out loud funny with an extremely intelligent script. You have them complaining about the titled-aristocracy of Europe who looks down on them. A great thing about it is that even though we think we are getting a protagonist perspective from the outsider character played by Edward Clements, it is actually through Carolyn Farina that we view the film for the majority of its running length. So, we are not sure about his motives and in the end it turns out that he is quite honest about it which we find surprising. It is a character that many of us from the middle class/upper middle class can identify with and will make you question yourself. Some in the group find him to be a phony but he has got the backing of Chris Eigeman character, who acts as the Tyler Durden of the group. The ending of the film is quite contrived, but it does earn enough credit up till then for us to be happy about it. 

Overall it is a great watch and one that you will love it if you are the kind of person that enjoys the works of Woody Allen, Linklater and Noah Baumbach. Performances are great and it is really a coming-of-age film that is hilariously funny. Most of the cast were first-time actors who got the gig through auditions. It managed to get a screening at Cannes and got an academy award nomination for best screenplay. Whit Stillman made his directorial debut with this film and I will certainly catch up with other films. Metropolitan was made on a budget of $225k and was a box office success, grossing around $3 million.  

Rating: 4.5/5

                                                                           

ഹിസ് ഹൈനസ്സ് അബ്ദുള്ള (His Highness Abdullah) (1990)

Director: Sibi Malayil
Writer:    Lohithadas
Cast:       Mohanlal, Nedumudi Venu, Gautami, Sreenivasan, Thikkurisi
Langauge: Malayalam

The IMBD synopsis of the film is as follows: 'Mohanlal is hired to kill Nedmudi Venu' and that is about it. Hahaha....Nedumudi Venu plays the role of Maharaja Udayavarma, the patriarch of a royal family, who doesn't have any heirs. His other blood relatives are three of his sisters and their respective families who are after his considerable wealth. They decide to hire a contract killer to kill him off when they come to know that, according to his will, some of the property is designated for his step-daughter and, whatever that is due to them will be transferred only after his death. Mohanlal plays the role of Abdullah who masquerades as the killer as he is desperate for money and enters into the good books of the king by displaying his artistic capabilities. As he draws more and more close to the King and accepts to himself that he cannot do the deed, he realizes that he has put himself in a quandary because they can use someone else to kill the king and use him as scapegoat for it. He decides to switch sides. The quote in the poster translates as: 'Bhishma was killed using Shikhandi as a front. Don't become the Shikhandi. This is Kalyug'.

Wikipedia page states that it is a 'musical thriller drama' film. Most of the Indian films can be described as such (one could add action & comedy as well) but I think calling them cinema is bit of a stretch in most cases. But this film can be considered as one of the best example of how you can make a really good one while adhering to Indian cinema sensibilities. The plot is very much basic but people who are involved behind it elevates it to a level that is very much higher than what the plot suggests it to be. Lohithadas-Sibi Malayil combo is famous for their sentimental tragedy films but this one is more of a thriller at its core while having a thick layer of drama, comedy (non- slapstick) and music around it. Raveendran who does the music for the film is my favorite music director from Malayalam and his music which is a big feature of the film represents it best. He is best known for making what seems to be semi-classical music that are also caters to the mainstream. Normally you don't associate semi-classical music with popular cinema but he managed to hit that sweet-spot which satisfies both the puritans and mainstream. All the songs in the film are in context and most of them help in driving the story. One could argue that one or two of them are not really needed but they are so good and picturization of them with Mohanlal as the singer is so great that you don't really mind. There is no other actor who is this perfect in portraying classical singing sequences in films. 

I do think if someone try to make this film with different people involved, it won't be nearly half good as this. It is my favorite film from Sibi Malayil and probably boasts of one of the best OST composed for a Malayalam feature film. It has got a big ensemble cast and it is these exceptional supporting actors who helped in making some of the best Malayalam films in late 80s and early 90s. I really think if these films gets a re-release now, they will do much better than the shit that they serve up these days. It was the highest grosser of 1990 and ran for more than 200 days. It was the first project produced by Mohanlal's 'Pranavam Arts' which went on to produce many good artistic films as well as good commercial ones. It is ironic that his other producing vehicle, Antony Perumbavoor's 'Aashirvad Cinemas', whose first film was 'Narasimham' marked the beginning of definitive decline of Malayalam cinema and its two stalwarts (Mohanlal and Mammootty).

Rating: 5/5