Dark (Season One) (2017)

Creators: Baran bo Odar, Jantje Friese
Cast: Too many in different versions
Language: German

I stumbled upon this Netflix original show after seeing it being described as 'Stranger Things' for adults. I haven't seen Stranger Things and not really planning to. Dark is so fucking good that I binged it twice within eight days. If you're planning to watch it, I can't recommend it highly enough, go ahead and do it. Plenty of spoilers ahead.

****************SPOILERS****************

I can best describe the show as 'Twin Peaks+Predestination', on steroids. Twin Peaks because of its small town industrial setting, family affairs, haunting atmosphere and music. Predestination reference is quite obvious due to the time travel factor. The way time travel works in the series so far is in the "Harry Potter: Prisoner of Azkaban" mode (the best Harry Potter book by the way). What has happened can't really be changed. Whenever someone from future tries to influence things, they only help in aiding what has already happened inadvertently. So it doesn't take anything goes approach which can be quite disengenous if time travel is your main theme.

Story begins in 2019, the present for all intends and purpose, with shots of Jonas' father committing suicide. It ends with a boy disappearing in the woods near the caves which is again near the nuclear power plant which dominates over the small town of Winden. Boy's father is the cop Uhlrich, who's having an affair with Jonas' mother, Hannah. Jonas, suffering from post traumatic stress,  discovers cave maps drawn by his father in the attic. Different characters in the story discovers the time travel possibility over the course of first season.

The time travel jumps in it is 33 years, a span over which solar-lunar cycle sync happens. So the time periods the series jumps to are 1986, 1953 and for a brief final seconds to 2052. It also has plenty of philosophic references including Nietzsche's musings about eternal recurrence which has a big overhang over its plotline. There is a love triangle in each of the time period: Helge-Claudia-Tronte in 1953, Hannah-Uhlrich-Katharina in 1986 and Jonas-Martha-Bartosz in 2019. It doesn't make a big deal about the twists that come along the way, all of which are pretty much guessable before they are revealed mainly because of the good job they have done with the casting of same characters from different time periods.

Based on the missing pages in Claudia's diary, I have a theory that many of the characters in 2019 are different versions of same people from past and future. Noah is Bartosz grown up and there is some mystery left around from where/when Alexander turned up. His real name Boris suggests some Russian connection, probably Chernobyl, and his surname Niechwald could be a reference to his parents from Nielsen and Kahnwald families- Jonas & Martha? On first watch I ended up with the obvious conclusion that Noah is the villain/dark and Claudia is the light. But on re-watch, I am not that sure especially because of the reference to our propensity to think in terms of duallism. The re-watch is so rewarding and you can see how well the show is edited, with recurrences offering it ample scope to place scenes together. It is masterful storytelling and I can't wait for the second season, which is currently in production.

"You are free with regards to what you can do but you are not free with regards to what you can will"...

PS: I am now more familiar with the family trees in Winden than my own.

Rating: 5/5

Hold the Dark (2018)

Director: Jeremy Saulnier
Writers: Macon Blair, William Giraldi (Novel)
DOP: Magnus Nordenhof Jønck
Cast: Jeffry Wright, Alexander Skarsgård, James Badge Dale, Riley Keough

After the death of three children in an Alaskan village, suspected to be killed by wolves, writer Russell Core is hired by the mother of a missing six year old boy to track down and kill the wolf.

It is the latest from independent filmmaker Jeremy Saulnier which dropped on Netflix this weekend. It was the revenge thriller Blue Ruin which got him noticed and he followed up that with the excellent 'Green Room'. Both are violent genre films and the latter was an attempt to subvert some of the genre tropes. This is the first time he is working with a significant budget and he gets to mix several genres (western, noir, revenge thriller) here on an epic scale. Like 'Wind River' from last year, it is set in cold conditions and with native Americans and cops involved around a murder case. But the treatment couldn't be any different. Saulnier subverts the expectations by having racial groups play against type while it was the total opposite in Wind River, which was exactly my problem with the latter.

The makers have chosen to leave many things mysterious for the audience by choosing to not explain things. But is is not a deliberate effort to leave things open-enbed with they themselves not having a theory to explain it all. Sufficient clues are given and you get a tremendous pay-off when you figure it out. But the downside to that is that plenty won't do and will end up getting disappointed with it. I'll put my theory below with a spoiler alert. Overall the film is a great watch if you are a fan of ambiguous films and it will eventually go down as a cult classic. Performances are excellent and the violence is relentless. I'm really glad that films like this and Annihilation are getting made due to Netflix since we're never gonna get theatre releases here anyway for them as they are not shitty DC/Marvel films.

Rating: 4.25/5

                   ****SPOILER ALERT****

The kid being sickly, her eyes being supposedly same as her husband's and him being with her ever since she could remember: they all mean that there is incest involved and they are siblings. Russell describes how the wolves he sighted in the wild was eating one of their own and referred to it as savaging. That is what they are gonna do with the body after retrieving it at the end. It still doesn't explain the actions taken by the mother after the killing and it could be that she was having second thoughts. All the killings are people who got in the way. Them being Nordic in origin I think is a reference to the American discovery as Vikings are supposed to have reached America before Columbus did.

വരത്തൻ (Varathan) (2018)

Director: Amal Neerad
Writers: Suhas-Sharfu
DOP: Little Swayamp
Cast: Fahadh Faasil, Aishwarya Lekskmi, Sharafudeen
Language: Malayalam

NRI couple, Abin and Priya, moves back to latter's ancestral home in a high range village while they are facing some difficulties on personal and career fronts. The village is not an idyllic one as is portrayed quite often in cinemas and as the title suggests (outsider), they are not that fond of Abin for no other particular reason.

Film's teaser reminded me of Enter the Void's opening credits and the trailer gave me the vibes of Sam Peckinpah's 1971 movie 'Straw Dogs'. It turned out to be almost like a remake of Straw Dogs, with all the major plot elements being there except for its infamous half-consent during the rape scene. Some of the camera angles surrounding Priya also reminded me of Aronofsky's mother! as well. These are what you expect from an Amal Neerad film and its success depends on how well it is placed in the domestic setting. I don't have a problem with it being a remake in terms of the plot structure as his films are never really about plot but solely on the making.

It is the village's moral policing, executed chiefly by its perverts, that welcomes the couple initially. Abin, boarding schooled and city-bred, is oblivious to the pervy nature of the village as he is predisposed to see the good in others initially by default. Priya, who has history in the village, is at pains to point this out to Abin but he doesn't realise until it's too late. As in Straw Dogs, the story arc around the husband's masculinity is also explored in the film in a convincing manner. The whole cast is excellent but the one who steals the show is Sharafudeen playing the villain character. It should be a turning point in his career. Little Swayamp and Sushin Shyam provides ample support with camera and music respectively, which are like always the chief highlights in an Amal Neerad film. It is his best work till date and should be watched on the best screen possible with Dolby fucking Atmos.

Rating: 4.25/5

Ranam (2018)

Director: Nirmal Sahadev
Writer: Nirmal Sahadev
DOP: Jigme Tenzing
Cast: Prithviraj, Rahman, Isha Talwar
Language: Malayalam

Aadhi (Prithviraj) is a transporter for a Srilankan Tamil drug boss, Damodar (Rahman), in Detroit. He is trying to get out but, like in all these mob films, his boss drags him back in.

Film had some very good buzz around it ahead of the release due to a very interesting teaser and a very well cut trailer, both of which gave it an atmospheric action thriller vibe. But the atmosphere around it is that of an emotional drama and the action scenes, which are done very well, happens very intermittently. So if you are buying tickets based on the trailer, adamant that it has to adhere to what they projected, then chances are you will be disappointed. If you are willing to enjoy it for what it is, then it is a satisfying film overall.

A guy doing one last crime job before getting out of it for good is a genre that I very much enjoy. Examples for those would be Driver, Thief, The American, Drive and Carancho. In most of the those films, the protagonists are usually loner sort of characters who don't talk much. Even though the protagonist of this film does have that vibe, there is too much voice over narration explaining things and also conveying what he is thinking. Director must be thinking that it is necessary for the general Malayalee audience, who are not aware of this space in USA or this genre of films, to have some of the things explained to them. But that choice makes the film lose some edginess it could have had by having the protagonist be really mysterious, in terms of being unpredictable about his thinking and the choices he makes. They could have also given more time for the villains to sort out the pacing issues during the middle part of the film.

It is a pretty good watch overall, treading the middle path for the genre fans and the general Malayalee audience who might be interested in seeing an emotional drama set in USA. The dangerous thing with the misleading trailer is that both might get turned off by it, the former for being misled and the latter by reaction to it from the former who turned up on the first weekend. Misleading trailers have invariably proved disastrous, in terms of box office numbers, for Malayalam films and often end up being reassessed post DVD/torrent release and TV run. It deserves to be seen on a big screen with great sound system because it is so fucking well made.

Rating: 3.5/5

Mindhunter- Season One (2017)

Created By: Joe Penhall
Directors: David Fincher, Asif Kapadia, Tobias Lindholm, Andrew Douglas
Cast: Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany, Hannah Gross, Cotter Smith

Mindhunter is a Netflix original crime drama series based on the book 'Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit' by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker. The lead character played by Jonathan Groff is based on John Douglas and the first season is set in the late 70s. As they put it in one of the scenes, FBI is still under the influence of Hoover era good-bad binary thinking while the nascent behavioural science unit is trying to bring some grey perspective into it. What we now take for granted from the point of view of nature-nurture debate, psychological interrogation techniques etc were quite niche back then. I didn't know that the coining of the term serial killer was this recent and they dabble with sequence killer instead through much of the season one.

Charlize Theron serves as an executive producer for the series and David Fincher directed four episodes in total, a couple each at the beginning and end. A usual season for American TV drama series proceeds like a 50 over ODI innings, with fast paced beginning and end, and the middle can be a phase of consolidation. They have you hooked with the big hitters Fincher and Asif Kapadia directing the first four episodes. TV is kind of seen as a writer's medium but you do see the difference in style when it is Fincher and Kapadia directing it as opposed to Lindholm and Andrew Douglas.

Se7en is seen as the first big break for David Fincher as a director and had, *Spoiler Alert*, Kevin Spacey playing God as the serial killer in it. He again had a go at this genre with 'Zodiac', which I reckon is the high watermark for it. Many of these films have super intelligent evil genius characters, like Hannibal Lecter, as serial killers and with Mindhunter, Fincher supposedly wanted a more realistic portrayal. Ed Kemper, the coed killer, features heavily in season one. Fincher has supposedly cast for season two the same actor Quentin Tarantino has cast as Manson for Once Upon A Time in Hollywood. I truly binged it by basically watching all episodes back to back over a nine hour period. Really looking forward to season two.

Rating: 4/5

Maradona (2018)

Director: Vishnu Narayan
Writer: Krishna Moorthy
DOP: Deepak D. Menon
Cast: Tovino Thomas, Chemban Vinod, Saranya, Tito Wilson

After Mayaanadhi, Tovino Thomas is again on the run as Maradona. He finds refuge in a flat in Bangalore where he stays with a distant relative's family who are unaware of his criminal background. Circumstances conspire to him being locked in the apartment for a week with just a dog for company initially. Over the course of the week he developes some balcony relationships even as antagonists are on the lookout for him.

Maradona's past and the nature of the crime he committed is revealed to us in a piecemeal manner. The narrative style is very interesting and we get a full picture of it only after the interval. First half of the film progresses like a neat crime thriller and second half follows a redemptive arc. I have seen some people complaining about its two and half hour length but it is necessary to do justice to the redemptive arc in the film. It is a very good watch overall with the slightly iffy ending preventing it from being great. They could've done a bit more justice to Chemban Vinod's character's ending arc. He just oozes coolness in the 'one last job' for once retired ruffian role.

Performances wise it is great going from all concerned, especially the leading lady who is a newcomer. Nisthar Ahmad, who got his break in 'Ozhivudivasathe Kali', only needs that intense stare to convey the menace. The director and the writer have been associated with the likes of Aashiq Abu and Lijo Jose Pellissery and they do live up to the expectation that it entails. The film has enough in it to please different kinds of audience but could very well get washed out due to the inconsistency in release pattern of Malayalam films. It is the first Malayalam film that I have watched since 'Ee.Ma.Yau' and that was like theth months ago. Now we will have a deluge of promising films coming out together ahead of Onam with every chance that some of them will underperform at Box Office due to the release rush.

Rating: 3.75/5

ഈ.മ.യൗ (Ee.Ma.Yau) (2018)

Director: Lijo Jose Pellissery
Writer: P.F. Matthews
DOP: Shyju Khaled
Cast: Chemban Vinod Jose, Vinayakan, Pauly Valsan, Dileesh Pothan
Language: Malayalam

A day and a night in a fishing village following the death of an old guy, to whom his son promised a funeral worthy of a King's.

The first half of the film moves in a sedate manner and I was kind of underwhelmed by it at halfway point. The pace picks up considerably in the second half and by the end you understand why the former half had to be that way. The entire premise of thet film can be told in about three sentencess but the trick is to it do it in an engaging manner in a different setting. After the film got released, the maker of an indie-film called Shavam accused LJP of plagiarism. Even without watching that film, I can safely say that the accusation is without merit because LJP films are never about storylines but always about their treatment. It is possibly career best performance from Chemban and Vinayakan and Dileesh are cast against type.

Technical excellence is a given in Lijo Jose Pellissery films and let me get it out of the way by reiterating it. Be it the night sequences which has a neon feel in some places or the rainy sequences during the day with the noise from sea being a constant background throughout. Music is used sparingly but very effectively, especially during the closing credits which had an incredible effect on me. The idea is to place the viewer in the same atmosphere as its characters and they manage to do it quite effectively. It is basically a dark comedy but the ending just pulls the rug out from underneath you all of a sudden in a way that cannot be explained. Not sure if all will have the same experience.

I can see quite a lot of people hating it if they go with the expectation that you are going to watch a typical LJP film. The reaction could be similar to what a few people had for Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum after watching it with a Maheshinte Prathikaram hangover. P.F. Matthews is the writer of Doordarshan's 'Mikhaelinte Santhathikal' and the award winning film 'Kuttisranku', which I couldn't watch past thirty minutes of it. In my opinion it is LJP's second best film with Angamaly Diaries of course being the top. There are throwbacks to it as well as Amen in this film. He is getting better and better with each film and Double Barrel clusterfuck seems to have taught him the importance of having correct length for a film with both the films after that clocking just two hours.

Rating: 4.5/5

Uncle (2018)

Director: Girish Damodar
Writer: Joy Mathew
DOP: Azhagappan
Cast: Mammooty, Karthika Muralidharan, Joy Mathew, Muthumani
Language: Malayalam

A college girl is stranded in Ooty following a strike in her college. By chance, a friend of her father in a Mercedes spots her and offers her a ride to Calicut as he is also going that way. When her father learns about this he is uneasy because his friend is bit of a flirt. Film switches between the car drive and the worried father at home.

In contrast with the reaction of the father, the mother is pretty cool about the situation. This is because women usually see these men under domestic settings and don't hear what all things are being said in an all-male environment. There is sufficient grey in Mammooty's head and in his portrayal of the character for us to suspect his intentions.  Some of the reviews have criticized this aspect of the film accusing it of playing the audience for cheap suspense. I don't agree with that since I do think he was playing it straight and that was how he felt towards the girl, not really paternal or platonic. Trailer reminded me of Kuttetan, which is kind of a landmark film in Malayalam for the brave treatment of its protagonist who has a thing for teenage girls. To be honest, it would've been genius if it was Mammooty back as Kuttetan in this film because the ending then would've been totally ambiguous, like the ending in Kuttetan. Missed opportunity there.

Overall the film is a very good watch with some lag in some places. They could've easily shaved off some twenty minutes from it. Karthika Muralidharan is playing a role which could've easily derailed the film if she didn't get it right but she does. There is some unnecessary ass-licking of the present ruling regime of Kerala which could've been avoided. When it comes to moral policing in Kerala, the communists are no different.

Rating: 3.5/5

You Were Never Really Here (2017)

Director: Lynne Ramsay
Writer: Lynne Ramsay, Jonathan Ames
DOP: Thomas Townend
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Ekaterina Samsonov, Judith Roberts, John Doman

A traumatized veteran, unafraid of violence, tracks down missing girls for a living. When a job spins out of control, Joe's nightmares overtake him as a conspiracy is uncovered.

It is Lynne Ramsay's take on the hit man genre and it is a genre-bender. It is brutal at times and the body-count is high but the focus is not much on the violence. We piece together through several flashes that happen over the course of the film that he had an abusive father, suffers from PTSD due to his involvement in gulf war and the FBI job that he took after also only added to his nightmares. He's on the edge and quite suicidal. Choices that he makes as an adult is because of the abuse he suffered as a kid but they don't really help him to overcome it.

Lynne Ramsay confirmed that the use of Psycho and Shawshank Redemption on the film was totally off-the-cuff but they do perfectly suit the film. Then again, it doesn't really matter whether the director intended or not, it is what you make of it that counts. Kevin Spacey is supposed to have been sexually abused as a child by his father and he kind of repeated the same, if the allegations are true. I do think something like that is going on in this as well. The first time rescue of the girl gave that vibe and he seems to be fighting against it.

Music for the film was done by Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood and it is an integral part of the film. It gives such a cool vibe to the film in some places. I've only seen one other film in Lynne Ramsay's short but long-spanning filmography and that was 'We need to talk about Kevin', which was quite excellent and fucked up. This is much more of a fun watch, relatively.

Rating: 4.25/5

Phantom Thread (2017)

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Writer: Paul Thomas Anderson
DOP: Paul Thomas Anderson?
Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Vicky Krieps, Lesley Manville

Set in 1950s London, Reynolds Woodcock is a renowned dressmaker whose fastidious life is disrupted by a young, strong-willed woman, Alma, who becomes her muse and lover. 

After his latest two outings, The Master and Inherent Vice, which were not that straight forward narrative wise this one from Paul Thomas Anderson is much more of a simpler one. Inherent Vice with a drugged up private investigator as protagonist was an attempt to get us the audience to feel the same amount of confusion as he must have been feeling. It is a film that I enjoyed, but like most of his recent films, it demands multiple viewings which I haven't quite managed yet. Daniel Day-Lewis, in what he declared to be his final role, is the perfectionist dressmaker who likes quiet and fulsome breakfasts which can make or break his day. He lives with his work partner and sister Cyril (Lesley Manville) and we see in the initial sequence, her advising him to dump his muse after a tension filled breakfast. He goes to the country for a break and meets Alma (Vicky Krieps), who becomes his new muse and lover. What we see over the course of the film is whether or not Alma can break the cycle. She has her own ways and the ending of the film can make or break it for most of the audience. It worked for me and reminded me of 'Blood Simple' in an odd sort of a way. It certainly left me feeling high.

One gripe I have with the likes of Paul Thomas Anderson and Quentin Tarantino is that they have resorted to the safety of period with their latest films. This is a film which could have been very well set in the contemporary times, even with the same profession of fashion at its center. It could have even more of an impact. If you also look at Daniel Day-Lewis' filmography in terms of films that he is famous for, most have been set in period as well. It is just an easy way out in my opinion. Despite these misgivings in a general sense, Phantom Thread is a pretty great watch. There is no credited DOP for the film as the usual ones who work with PTA were busy with other projects and he himself is said to have managed the camera persons.

Rating: 4.25/5

സ്വാതന്ത്ര്യം അർദ്ധരാത്രിയിൽ (Swathanthryam Ardharathriyil) (2018)

Director: Tinu Pappachan
Writer: Dileep Kurian
DOP: Gireesh Gangadharan
Cast: Antony Varghese, Chemban Vinod, Vinayakan, Titto Wilson
Language: Malayalam

As was hinted by the trailer and the title of the film, which translates as 'Freedom at Midnight', it is a jail break genre piece which works as an action thriller. You got the typical protagonist who was hard done by the justice system and is a first time prisoner. The usual hard adjustment to jail life is portrayed as well as him making some friends and enemies in the prison which will serve the story down the line. I'm not complaining about the clichés here as it is anyway a genre film and how such films can standout is either due to its making quality or some genre subversions. They are going for the former here and it is indeed technically very sound.

In terms of backstory, we are getting it only for the chief protagonist and it is quite poorly done in the first half with a very rushed half-arsed feel to it. It is done through several flashbacks and couple of cringe inducing green screen scenes. If those green screen scenes were done even more poorly, it could've been interpreted as an artistic choice. Film picks up once he reaches the jail. Both Vinayakan and Chemban Vinod are excellent in their roles with adding some great comedy value. There are several scenes and particularly the ones involving Lijo Jose Pellissery, the director's mentor, which would remind one of Sin City in terms of style and colour/lighting tones. The action scenes, mostly in rain, are very well done and it is another one after Angamaly Diaries for Gireesh Gangadharan to show off in a good way. Many of the people from that film is involved here as well with Chemban and LJP serving as executive producers.

Overall it's a pretty good watch with some of the rawness associated with LJP's earlier works like Nayakan and City of God. Script could've been a lot tighter and the plot relies on too many convenient coincidences. They could have made the backstory a lot less complicated. Still, great to see such efforts coming from Malayalam.

Rating: 3.5/5

All The Money In The World (2017)

Director: Ridley Scott
Writer: David Scarpa
DOP: Dariusz Wolski
Cast: Michelle Williams, Christopher Plummer, Mark Wahlberg

The story of the kidnapping of 16-year-old John Paul Getty lll and the desperate attempt by his mother to convince his billionaire grandfather Jean Paul Getty to pay the ransom.

I had no idea that the film was based on real events and it was quite strange that I wasn't aware of the name Getty, considering the fact that he was the first person to become a dollar billionaire. He had made his money by building oil tankers  that are used to bring oil from Saudi Arabia to the West. He had married five times and had maintained a harem. He was into his 80s when the events depicted in the film happened. I sussed out the basic premise of the film from the trailer and since I didn't know it was based on true events, had no idea how it was going to play out which is always good.

The film made news when Ridley Scott decided to recast Christopher Plummer as Jean Paul Getty in the aftermath of Kevin Spacey allegations, after having almost finished post-production. Plummer was the original choice for Ridley but had cast Spacey due to his marketability, ha ha. I'm glad he made the change because Spacey as the character in his 80s with prosthetics didn't look good at all. Christopher Plummer is amazing in the role as is Michelle Williams as the distressed but strong mother.

The only complaint I've about the film is its dull look due to the colour choices. The opening scenes of it is like a homage to Fellini films. Ridley started directing films late, as a 40-year-old, and it is ridiculous how hard he is working in his late 70s. He is kind of hit and miss in terms of conversion and this one is a hit.

Rating: 4/5

Bone Tomahawk (2015)

Director: S. Craig Zahler
Writer: S. Craig Zahler
DOP: Benji Bakshi
Cast: Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox, Richard Jenkins

Four men set out in the Wild West to rescue a group of captives from cannibalistic cave dwellers.

It is a straight up Western set after the end of civil war and to be more specific in the 1890s. I didn't know that the concept of frontier towns existed in US that late. The white Americans don't make much distinction between the usual Red Indian tribes that they encounter and the cannibalistic clan that they are dealing with in this film. The colonization of America is these days depicted in an overly apologetic manner as opposed to the whitewashing that was there in an earlier era. It has kind of swung back too much the other way as if all the Red Indian population was wiped off in a deliberate manner ignoring the role played by the diseases that their immune system was not equipped to deal with and the natural conflicts that would have occurred when settlers came in. Applying today's standards to historical events have got a lot to do with it.

This film focuses on the frontier conflict aspect with characters that are true to their historical settings. There is no attempt to sugarcoat things or be too much apologetic about it. This can cause it to be an uncomfortable viewing for many and it is especially famous for one particular gory scene. To be fair they give an early warning with the opening scene itself. It is a good watch overall even though it kind of peters out towards the end. The character played by Richard Jenkins is quite annoying as he was in 'The Shape of Water' as well. Video and audio being out of sync in the print that I watched didn't help matters.

Rating: 3.25/5

Sudani from Nigeria (2018)

Director: Zakariya
Writers: Muhsin Parari, Zakariya
DOP: Shyju Khalid
Cast: Soubin Shahir, Samuel Abiola Robinson, Savithri Sreedharan
Language: Malayalam

Film is set around the sevens football milieu of Malappuram where Majeed (Soubin Shahir) is the 'Manager' of a struggling club. His star player from Africa for the upcoming season is Samuel who injures himself in a freak bathroom accident. The hospital expenses and recovery has to be taken care by Majeed and, to save hospital costs, he decides to take Samuel to his house and the film is basically about the human bonds that form over there.

For some strange reason the people from Malappuram call all the African players Sudu, short form for Sudanis. After a star turn in his first match, a fan asks Samuel if he is from Sudan and Samuel is quite adamant in making it clear that he is from Nigeria. The significance of this is realized later in the film. Majeed is an unemployed bachelor, and a Real Madrid fan, who is taking all the initiatives to get himself married. He has a difficult relationship with his step-father and is quite selfish at home and takes one-sided decisions, probably in an effort to establish himself as the man of the house. His mother still has an apologetic relationship with him and doesn't object when Samuel is brought to her home. It is she and her neighbor friend, Beeyumma, who steals the show in a film where most of the actors are newcomers, all of whom have done an excellent job.

It is a film which defies our expectations throughout. We take it as a given that the climax of the film would involve a final football match with Samuel returning to play after recovering, but it never materializes. The sub inspector of police, the usual bullying kind, is very thin in physique. Even the football is quite sidelined after the initial parts of the film as it focuses more on the human angle. If you lay out the plot of the film as such, it will look like a sappy sentimental film, but it is made in a very nuanced manner taking time to establish all its details. Watch out for the passive-aggressive 'Nair' guy with a cow. The politics is there in the film as a subtext which is usually how it works best in a film. It is a world away from Priyadarshan's depiction of Muslim characters as people with four wives and instant talaqs. Shyju Khalid's camera work will remind you of his work from 'Maheshinte Prathikaram'. Him and Sameer Thahir had actually produced the film with E4E, who have now got a reputation for being associated with good films, have done the distribution. It is a great watch overall.

Rating: 3.75/5

Contact (1997)

Director: Robert Zemeckis
Writers: James V. Hart, Michael Goldenberg, Based on Contact by Carl Sagan & Ann Druyan
DOP: Don Burgess
Cast: Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, James Woods, John Hurt

Dr. Ellie Arroway, after years of searching, finds conclusive radio proof of extraterrestrial intelligence which had send plans for building a mysterious machine.

The film covers a lot of ground in two and half hours of its running time taking the intelligence of its audience for granted. I especially liked the fact that they dropped eminent domain there without explaining it. Matthew McConaughey's character is sort of a new age spiritual Czar for the White House and the conflict between science and faith is portrayed with his relationship with Jodie Foster's scientist character. From an aging standard point of view, even though it is not set on a future timeline, what it got very correct is the presence of private players in space science with a very Elon Musk like billionaire funding Ellie's SETI project when the Govt pulled the plug.

The film had got renewed interest on the wake of release of Christopher Nolan's 'Interstellar' and not just because of the Mathew McConaughey connection. The supposed scientific accuracy of Interstellar had various scientists citing Contact as the one which captured the working of a scientist in the most accurate manner even though the time dilation at the end doesn't make much sense from a scientific point of view. But what works for Contact is that it gets emotional part of the story right and is a good mix unlike Interstellar, whose emotional scenes managed to get laughs out of the audience. In that sense, it is a rich man's Interstellar. I ended in the same feel good state that I had with Ridley Scott's Martian. I do think it is quite an underrated film and it is the less well known Zemeckis films, Flight being the other one, that I liked much more than his famous ones like Forrest Gump and Back to the Future.

Rating: 4.5/5

പൂമരം (Poomaram) (2018)

Director: Abrid Shine
Writer: Abrid Shine
DOP: Gnaanam
Cast: Kalidas Jayaram, Neeta Pillai
Language: Malayalam

Poomaram happens over the eve and five days of MG University youth festival where Maharajas college is trying to usurp five times running champion St. Theresa's college. Kalidas plays the chairman of the former and Neeta Pillai is chairperson of the latter.

Abrid Shine's brief two film old body of work is characterized by unconventional storytelling. His first film '1983' was the more cinematic of the two and I had quite enjoyed that film. His second feature, 'Action Hero Biju' followed the happenings in a police station and it was a film I detested because of its middle class pandering and sensibilities. I was not too sure whether to go for Poomaram on back of that but finally went for it due to the not so bad reviews and its supposed treatment. Also, I didn't want to encourage nepotism in Malayalam cinema by going for it blind.

The film begins on a very bad note through a very cringe worthy opening credits where Kalidas' family is introduced with very artificial and polite interactions. That plagues Kalidas' performance throughout and director has to share the blame for that. In contrast, it is Neeta Pillai who steals the show as the leader of rival college. It works like a docudrama and is at its best when it is in this mode. Casting of other supporting characters is really good but film is still rife with cheap laughs and sympathy generated out of unconventional characters due to their appearances and disabilities. It even got a reload of AHB with all its problems. The ending is also problematic where, like in AHB, director compromises the aesthetics of it up to that point with a cinematic ending. Thondimuthal Driksakshiyum was a revelation in getting performances out of non-actors and you can see the other side here with some extremely unnatural and overly polite sequences in it, which sticks out like a sore thumb, especially during the beginning parts of the film.

It is not to say that I didn't enjoy the film. It could've been easy for the director to play up the class and caste difference between the colleges by giving it a good bad binary portrayal but he opts to do it in a realistic and subtle manner with the casting choices and mannerisms. The good and bad of arts festival culture in Kerala is portrayed well, especially its extreme competitiveness. Overall, it is a good watch with a very unique treatment but with some of the same problems carried over from AHB.

Rating: 3/5

Annihilation (2018)

Director: Alex Garland
Writers: Alex Garland, Jeff VanderMeer
DOP: Rob Hardy
Cast: Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Oscar Isaac

A biologist signs up for a dangerous, secret expedition where the laws of nature don't apply or it is just very hyperactive.

It's on Netflix and do watch it without knowing anything about it. So don't read on if you haven't seen it. How it came to Netflix for international release was that the Studio heads at Paramount thought that it was too cerebral. They clashed with Scott Rudin and Alex Garland on its final cut. So they gave a two week window to release it in USA and China after which it got released on Netflix this week.

It is an adaptation of Jeff VanderMeer's first book with the same name from 'Southern Reach' trilogy. What happens in the area they are exploring, where something from space fell, is that cell activity is very heightened and evolution is on steroids. People outside have no idea what's going on and are not sure about the motive of whatever that is happening inside. The point is that it has no motive and just a property. This is what people find hard to fathom when it comes to evolution. Gene replication is a property and evolution happening due to errors in replication or mutations has no end goal. There is no motivation, purpose or end goal, just a propensity to replicate. They gradually learns that the area that they are exploring is acting like a prism for cell replication and all the mutations are leading to all sorts of species coming out of it. It makes sense up to this point and the last act of the thing mimicking didn't make much sense but it is a good cinema trope. It can be seen as the explanation of what was happening to 'The Thing' on the John Carpenter movie.

The film will also remind one of Ridley Scott's Alien. It works as a sci-fi movie, monster movie and a horror movie over the course of it. He had cited self destruction as a theme he wanted to highlight in the film and it is even stated explicitly stated in the movie by one of its characters. It is visually stunning, well acted and got a trippy soundtrack. It has a similar ending to Ex Machina and on whole I enjoyed it even more than it. And Ex Machina was great by the way.

Rating: 4.75/5

Mute (2018)

Director:Duncan Jones
Writers: Michael Robert Johnson, Duncan Jones
DOP: Gary Shaw
Cast: Alexander Skarsgard, Paul Rudd, Justin Theroux

A mute bartender goes up against his city's gangsters in an effort to find out what happened to his missing partner.

Duncan Jones considers this film to be a spiritual sequel to his debut feature 'Moon', which was an excellent watch. It is 30 years from now and has got flying cars, drone-delivered fast food and is set in Blade Runner looking Berlin. It was made for Netflix and has got a cheap TV vibe to it in terms of performances. But some of the set design and non-clean look of the future might be intentional. The population of the city or at least the people he is interacting with comes from various ethnic backgrounds and have very diverse sexual orientations. The film is dedicated as a parenting homage to director's father, David Bowie,and his nanny, both of whom have died quite recently. The Berlin setting and the nature of people he meets might be explained by that.  One of the problems with the film that I found is the way it dedicates its time to various characters. First half of the film is largely centered on the mute character and in second half we tend to spend more time with the villainous characters. That serves to work the twist but the twist is kind of dud. One good thing it does is you can't really brand the villains as traditional villains and it almost manages to make you root for the pedophile character at some points, which is quite some feat. That said, the attitude towards it felt a bit anachronistic for me because I do think we are progressing towards determining biology as the cause for that predilection. It won't ever be accepted like homosexuality but people might come around to understand why it exists and the answer might lie with nature.

It is another one of those recent films which made news for its Rotten Tomatoes score. People make the mistake of wrongly understanding the tomatometer score,which is a very binary one. The one you should be looking at is the average rating of 4/10 which is closer to the audience score of 52%. 13% means only 13% of the critics liked it but not that their average rating is something like 1.3/10. I don't pay much attention to the tomatometer rating these days because passable films can get a very high score there because nobody hates it.

Coming back to the film, it is an interesting watch if you can get through it. Some of the performances are underwhelming and some decent enough. It is not as bad as it is made out to be and I checked it out mainly due to the polarizing reactions that it got.

Rating: 2.25/5

Darkest Hour (2017)

Director: Joe Wright
Writer: Anthony McCarten
DOP: Bruno Delbonnel
Cast: Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Lily James, Ben Mendelsohn

During the early days of World War 2, the fate of the Western Europe hangs on the newly-appointed British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who must decide whether to negotiate with Adolf Hitler, or fight on against incredible odds.

The timeline shown in the films is roughly the same as Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk, which ditched all the political moves and took you straight to the battlefront. So this film can be basically seen as a side-piece to that showing the decision making process that was involved leading up to the retreat from Dunkirk. The Conservative party was not that keen on electing Churchill as their PM but there was pressure from Labor to ditch Chamberlain after his appeasement steps towards Hitler was deemed a historical mistake. Even after getting elected as PM, he was under pressure from Chamberlain and his cohorts who were still trying to get him to negotiate instead of a confrontation. The film is basically about Churchill coming to the decision of not to negotiate with Hitler culminating in that famous speech at the Parliament.

Indians do have a special hatred for Churchill often citing his racism and his mishandling of Bengal famine as reasons for it. They tend to view this film through that prism, criticizing it for lionising Churchill. These are the same people who crib about Dunkirk for it not having any Indian soldier on the beach. I wonder whether they also buy tickets for 'Tiger Zinda Hein'. The film doesn't portray Churchill as someone who got everything right. There is reference to his mishandling of famine and Gallipoli setback during first world war. He got Hitler right but many things wrong. A film set in that time period is obviously gonna concentrate on the war angle.

Not saying it is without faults. There is a London tube scene towards the end which is gonna make or break the movie for many. I just cringed through it. It is well worth a watch overall with an amazing central performance from Gary Oldman who is totally unrecognisable. I still would've given the award to Timothée Chalamet as I prefer performances that don't rely on makeups or body transformations. I'm a fan of Joe Wright's 'Atonement' which also had that stunning  Dunkirk tracking shot.

Rating: 3/5

The Shape of Water (2017)

Director: Guillermo del Toro
Writers: Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor
DOP: Dan Laustsen
Cast: Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Michael Stuhlbarg, Octavia Spencer

At a top secret research facility in the 1960s, a lonely and mute janitor forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature that is being held in captivity.

Guillermo del Toro made his mark initially with the Spanish horror films that he made which culminated with Pan's Labyrinth, which was more like a horror film masquerading as a children's fantasy, that made him known to the wider audience after its success at the Oscars. I haven't actually seen any of his films post that which are more known for their production design. The shape of water is no different and it has got a pretty basic plot to go with it but through some really established characters. What makes it interesting is the genres that it touches on and del Toro's brief but bloody and brutal flourishes. Michael Shannon is playing a typical Michael Shannon role but that doesn't matter because he is so good at it. Rest of the cast does a great job including Doug Jones, who also played that dude from Pan's Labyrinth. They didn't go Dr. Manhattan with him though even though it is R-Rated and they had a convenient biological excuse for it which they address. It is set in a Cold War 60s research facility and it is highly recommended that you watch with the best possible print that you can get. It reminded me of Predestination's retro and clean look.

Overall it is a great watch even though it is not as affecting as 'Pan's Labyrinth'. It has received 13 Oscar nominations and is one of the favorites for winning Best Picture. I am rooting for 'Get Out' and 'Three Billboards', both of which I enjoyed more and has more of a rewatch value. Guillermo del Toro's films are generally ones that you wouldn't be that keen to revisit even though you enjoy them.

Rating: 4/5      

Mudbound (2017)

Director: Dee Rees
Writers: Dee Rees, Virgil Williams, Hillary Jordan
DOP: Rachel Morrison
Cast: Carey Mulligan, Jason Clarke, Jason Mitchell, Mary J. Bilge, Jonathan Banks, Rob Morgan

Two men, one black and one white, return from home after world war two to work on a farm in rural Mississippi, where they struggle to deal with racism and adjusting to life after war.

It is basically centred around two families, one land owning white one with a full blown racist grandfather and a black family with aspirations to buy some land so that their kids won't have the same fate as theirs. It is based on the novel with the same name from Hillary Jordan and is told from multiple perspectives with many of its characters taking turns to do narrations. Novel as a medium allows for internal monologues and it is something that is not viable in films. Use of narration is generally considered as a sign of weak storytelling in films but I didn't have a problem with it in Mudbound because of the multiple perspectives that it is going for. Netflix picked up the film for distribution and I wonder whether they insisted on the narration.

World wars brought about significant social changes in Europe. Increased participation of women in workforce was as a result of first world war and the German air raids of England and the consequent state of mind of the people, where any day could be their last, and staying in closed quarters during the raids have said to have influenced the change in sexual norms of the society. The United States, which was quite far removed from the battlefront, didn't experience the same changes and the black soldier is returning back to the racist hellhole that is American South. The white soldier, an airforce pilot, is retuning to stay with his brother's family who have bought this farmland recently. There is this 'Iyobinte Pusthakam', which again was influenced by 'Irakal', vibe to their storyline. Overall, Mudbound is a stunning watch and hits you hard. Rachel Morrison has become the first woman cinematographer to be nominated for the academy awards. But Roger Deakins seems to be a lock for his work in Blade Runner 2049.

Rating: 4.25/5

The Disaster Artist (2017)

Director: James Franco
Writers: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber
DOP: Brandon Trost
Cast: James Franco, Dave Franco, Seth Rogen

When Greg Sestero (Dave Franco), an aspiring film actor, meets the weird and mysterious Tommy Wiseau (James Franco) in an acting class, they form a unique friendship and travel to Hollywood to make their dream come true. Faced by rejections, Wiseau decides to make a film with his own money. The result is the so bad its good cult classic 'The Room', which he wrote, directed, produced and starred.

I haven't actually seen The Room in full but have seen its famous sequences like 'Oh, hi Mark', 'You're tearing me apart' and 'You're my favourite customer'. You don't really need to see it to actually enjoy this film. It is adapted from book written by Greg and Tom Bissell, a journalist, on the making of 'The Room', which James Franco first read before actually watching the film. Seth Rogen was already a fan of the film and co-produced the adaptation. When James first approached Wiseau to buy the rights, he was asked to approach Johnny Depp to play the titular role which would have been curious as he has already made a similar kind of film in 'Ed Wood'.

I was initially put off thinking it was James Franco playing a double role. I actually binned watching David Simon TV Series 'Deuce' because of the same factor. Anyway, James Franco is unrecognisable playing Tommy Wiseau and he apparently stayed in character while directing it. Film grows on you gradually as it is not clearly a spoof but quite a sympathetic portrayal. Visually it is quite bland like typical Seth Rogen LA films. They've recreated the scenes from the original film in spectacular detail and they are displayed side by side during the end credits. It doesn't resolve the questions like how old Wiseau is, where he is from originally and how did he get the money to make the film. Sexual allegations against James Franco have taken the wind out of its sail during the awards season after him winning the golden globes award. Do wait for the post credits scene.

Rating: 4/5

Best of 2017

More like favorites actually...

1. Angamaly Diaries (Lijo Jose Pellissery)
2. Get Out (Jordan Peele)
3. A Ghost Story (David Lowery)
4. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Martin McDonagh)
5. The Death of Stalin (Armando Ianucci)
6. Columbus (Kogonada)
7. Maayanadhi (Aashiq Abu)
8. Loveless (Andrey Zvyaginstev)
9. Dunkirk (Christopher Nolan)
10. Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum (Dileesh Pothan)
11. Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig)
12. mother! (Darren Aronofsky)
13. Good Time (Safdie Brothers)
14. The Florida Project (Sean Baker)
15. Mudbound (Dee Rees)
16. The Square (Ruben Östlund)
17. Call Me By Your Name (Luca Guadagnino)
18. Sexy Durga (Sanal Kumar Sasidharan)
19. The Killing of a Sacred Deer (Yorgos Lanthimos)
20. Okja (Joon-ho Bong)
21. Logan Lucky (Steven Soderbergh)
22. T2: Trainspotting (Danny Boyle)
23. Split (Manoj Night Shyamalan)
24. The Shape of Water (Guillermo del Toro)
25. The Disaster Artist (James Franco)
26. John Wick: Chapter 2 (Chad Stahelski)
27. The Meyerowitz Stories (New & Selected) (Noah Baumbach)
28. Baby Driver (Edgar Wright)

Lady Bird (2017)

Director: Greta Gerwig
Writer: Greta Gerwig
DOP: Sam Levy
Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts

In 2002, an artistically inclined (self-declared) seventeen-year-old girl comes of age in Sacramento, California. She has a very difficult relationship, typical teenage kind, with her mother who wants her to pursue her college studies in Sacramento itself while she wants to go to a college in New-York, which is apparently the place for artsy fartsy kind of people. She is currently studying in a catholic school and is also going through friendship and relationship struggles that are typically associated with the age.

The film is kind of semi-autobiographical in mood and tone rather than events wise. I was predisposed to dislike the film because of the Oscar buzz associated with it and has never been a big fan of actor-turned directors. It won me over by the 30-minute mark and is a fine watch. There are portions where you think it is doing the typical teenage coming of age tropes but remains somehow fresh in its treatment. That is probably because it never stresses too much on one aspect of her life- her friendships, romantic relationships or her relationship with her family members. Ultimately, the film is about her relationship with her mother but both of them are portrayed as quite flawed. Have seen some people complaining about hers being an unlikable character which is something I don't really get. Films are not meant to have you follow a protagonist that can only be likable. It is only about 90 minutes long and leave you wanting more which is always a good thing.

There have been some comparisons with 'The Edge of Seventeen' but Lady Bird is even more rawer and thus less cinematic. Even more apt comparison would be with this year's 'Columbus', which was another coming of age drama where the protagonist is contemplating leaving her hometown to pursue studies/career. In Columbus, she doesn't want to leave the hometown in order to take care of her mother while in Lady Bird it is just the opposite. Both of them are great watches, filmed in contrasting styles and moods. I have been a great fan of Greta Gerwig's collaborations with Noah Baumbach and it is good to see her jump seamlessly into directing. The film has earned five nominations: Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress and Best Original screenplay. It wouldn't be surprising if it wins Best Picture since the others involved are not that universally liked (Three Billboards & Shape of Water).

Rating: 4.5/5

The Death of Stalin (2017)

Director: Armando Ianucci
Writers: Armando Ianucci, David Schneider, Ian Martin, Peter Fellows
DOP: Zac Nicholson
Cast: Steve Buscemi, Simon Russell Beale, Jeffrey Tambour, Michael Palin, Paddy Considine


Follows the Soviet dictator's last days and depicts the chaos of the regime after his death.

I had recently watched the BBC series on Cold War and thus was familiar with most of the names and their fates in this film. Not having any idea will also work because you won't know who will come on top at the end. Beria (Beale), the torture minister/NKVD head, was the one to take all the initiatives immediately after Stalin's death. He cuts off Moscow from rest of Russia and hand it to NKVD instead of the red army. The politburo is still coping with Stalin's absence and Khrushchev (Buscemi) starts to exert pressure gradually on the acting successor, Malenkov (Tambor), by influencing the likes of Molotov (Palin). The chief of the red army, Zhukov (Jason Isaacs), also makes a grand entry with his zillion medals in the second half of the film.

The first half of the film works pretty much like an absurd comedy but many of the things that is shown actually happened. The guards manning Stalin's bedroom don't check up on him after hearing him collapse because there is a Stalin diktat refraining anyone from disturbing him while sleeping. Central committee has to discuss before calling up on a doctor, a hard task considering that the good ones have been already sent to the Gulags. A respirator from USA was available but wasn't used because of fear of how will Stalin respond if he recovers. The events shown in the film are compressed to happen over by the time of Stalin's funeral when in real life it happened over a period of one year. The second half of the film is much more darker, culminating with Khrushchev becoming more like the Buscemi we know.

It is a great watch overall and one of the best from last year. The film is an adaptation of a French graphic novel. Political incompetence is familiar area for Ianucci. Thankfully, he doesn't use fake Russian accents in the film and each of the actors uses their own English accent, which makes sense as Soviet Union was pretty big in size. Some of the outdoor scenes have a cheap feel because of budgetary constraints but it kind of works because that is how it is in those shitty History Channel documentaries. The film has been banned in Russia.

PS: Modi ministers will relate a lot to it if they watch this film.

Rating: 4.75/5

Call Me By Your Name (2017)

Director: Luca Guadagnino
Writers: James Ivory, André Aciman
DOP: Sayombhu Mukdeeprom
Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Arnie Hammer, Michael Stuhlbarg
Language: English, Italian

In Northern Italy in 1983, seventeen year-old Elio begins a relationship with visiting Oliver, his father's research assistant, with whom he bonds over his emerging sexuality, their Jewish heritage and the beguiling Italian landscape.

Film reminded me of Eric Rohmer films that are set in countryside with characters lazing about during summer. It is billed as the third one in Luca Guadagnino's thematic 'Desire' Trilogy with 'I'm Love' and 'A Bigger Splash' being the other two. I've only seen the latter and stylistically both films couldn't be more apart. A Bigger Splash was shot in a very pulpy manner with some curious but great camera moves and zooms. Pace wise, it was leisurely at the beginning and quite frenzied towards the end. Call me by your name has a lazy vibe throughout keeping in with its summer settings and is purely European in its approach. It leaves you with the feeling that you get after reading a great novel. That is quite an achievement since it is an adaptation of André Aciman's novel with the same name.

Film can be described as a coming of age story and is basically 'Moonlight', but in a very supportive environment. Central performance from Timothée Chalamet is out of this world as things are conveyed more through looks and mannerisms rather than dialogue. At no point you are confused about what is going on. Only minor gripe I've with the film is the flawless English that he is speaking but he is anyway portrayed as quite an expert in almost everything he is doing. Luca Guadagnino's next project is supposed to be a remake of Dario Argento's 'Suspiria' which reunites him with the cast from 'A Bigger Splash'.

Rating: 4.25/5

Black Panther (2018)

Director: Ryan Coogler
Writers: Ryan Coogler, Joe Robert Cole
DOP: Rachel Morrison
Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o

T'challa, after the death of his father, the king of Wakanda, returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation to succeed to the throne and take his rightful place as king.

Wakanda is a resource rich nation with abundant supply of a metal called Vibranium and they have chosen to keep this a secret from the outside world by adopting the veneer of being a poor farming nation. While the condition of rest of Africa and African Americans all over the world is poor, they see no reason to come to their aid out of fear of exposing their secret. One of their own (Michael B. Jordan), unknown to them, has a radical plan to overthrow the king and arm the oppressed against the ruling classes all over the world. So it is basically kind of like the Dark Knight films.

Like almost all superhero films, the premise is pretty fucking stupid. But the ones that work are usually films which doesn't take itself too seriously. That is not the case with Black Panther. I had seen Thor: Ragnarok recently and I don't remember the Norse characters in it putting on a fake Nordic accent. In Black Panther, even though most of the business takes place in Wakanda, the characters have a fake English accent, which is supposed to be African,  that takes you right out of the film. It is especially bad because many of the dialogues in it are blatant expositions and it was like watching a poorly dubbed film. Expected much more from Ryan Coogler, whose debut feature 'Fruitvale Station' was an excellent watch.

PS: Martin Freeman plays the token white guy among the 'good' side.

Rating: 2.25/5

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

Director: Martin McDonagh
Writer: Martin McDonagh
DOP: Ben Davis
Cast: Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, Abbie Cornish, Peter Dinklage

A mother (Frances McDormand) personally challenges the local authorities to solve her daughter's murder by putting up three billboards questioning them when they fail to catch the culprit. Her logic is that it would keep the case in people's mind and she calls out the local police chief (Woody Harrelson) in one of them billboards.

When a girl is brutally raped and murdered, you would expect her mother to receive wider support from the community when she is persistent even almost a year after the event. But the reaction she gets for the billboards is mixed as there is some extenuating circumstance around the Police Chief. We learn over the course of the film that she is doing her actions out of both grief and guilt and these actions become more and more questionable as the film progresses. The film is set in rural Missouri and the characters in it don't have much of a filter when they talk, which is perfect for a Martin McDonagh film as they tend to quite sweary anyway. It is centered around three characters- the mother, the Police Chief and a racist Mamma's boy police officer played by Sam Rockwell. What is so refreshing about films from McDonaghs, both the brothers, is that they are very unpredictable and this one is no different. As soon as we start to think that the film is going this way, it takes an unexpected turn- be it plot-wise or character-wise.

The other two Martin McDonagh (In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths) films can also be described as tragicomedies with the degree of tragic part varying and timing of it tending to be towards the latter part of the film.In contrast, three billboards have a tragic thread running throughout even though the trailer suggests it as an out and out comedy with Frances McDormand playing the female version of Harry (Ralph Fiennes) from In Bruges. It works really well with the great actors delivering great lines from the script and several scenes suddenly turning from tragedy to comedy and vice-versa. One could say that it deals with similar themes like anger, guilt, damnation, midgets and justice that is there in other two films of his as well. It is a favorite for getting the Best Picture award at the Oscars. It is almost a certainty that Frances McDormand will win her second best actress award (first one of course for Fargo) at the Oscars. Both Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell have been nominated in the supporting actor category as well.

There have been some recent controversy about the redemptive nature of Sam Rockwell's racist police officer's character arc and it is a load of bullshit. Almost all the characters in it are dealt in grey and fucking deal with it. After the most recent US mass shooting in a school at Florida, was it, three billboards style protest was done outside Marco Rubio's office. One minor quibble one might have with the film is the arbitrary nature of introduction and convenience of a character who is there only in two scenes. The ambiguous ending that the film goes for makes it alright though in my eyes. The film has done extremely well at the box office grossing around $100 million on its $12 million budget and is certainly one of the best film from last year.

Rating: 4.75/5

റോസാപ്പൂ (Rosapoo) (2018)

Director: Vinu Joseph
Writers: Vinu Joseph, Santhosh Echikkanam
DOP: Jebin Jacob
Cast: Biju Menon, Neeraj Madhav, Anjali, Dileesh Pothen, Soubin Shahir
Language: Malayalam

Shajahan (Biju Menon) is a failed entrepreneur from Fort Kochi and he gets the idea of producing a soft porn film from an MBA friend of his (Basil Joseph). He sources money from a few people and takes off to Madras with his amateur director friend to get the film made. Film is about the struggles that they face while making the film in what the director intends to be told in a comedic manner.

I had recently read an article, probably a Facebook post, which contrasts the treatment of village prostitutes by Mohanlal's characters in Spadikam and Naran. Kerala society is getting more and more conservative these days and this is reflected in these two films which came a decade apart. In Spadikam, Aadu Thoma sleeps with Silk Smitha's character and is not ashamed to flaunt this relationship of his, especially when it serves the purpose of riling up his father. In Naran, Mullankolli Velayudhan acts as the moral police of his village by sleeping outside the home of Sona Nair's character and thus stopping her from doing business and negatively 'affect' families.

Rosapoo ends up in the 'Naran' camp as it goes all preachy towards the end. Even during the course of the film there are large tonal inconsistencies throughout when it comes to Neeraj Madhav's character. He worships Bharathan and Padmarajan and is reluctant about directing the soft-core film. He makes changes in script to make it more politically correct at the same time falling in love with the actress. She is at first flirting with him but as soon as he expresses his love, she is heart-broken to see that he is also seeing her as an object. Tone of the film is all over the place. Characters in it are very exaggerated and it doesn't work always. The first act of the film in Fort Kochi (Drones, drones and more drones) is plain boring and things do pick up in Chennai only to fall off a cliff little bit later. You get the stereotyped Muslim characters and their practices. The age difference between marrying couple among Muslims was shown in a very mature manner recently in 'Parava' and in this film you get a totally fucked up version of it just done for comedic effect. The film within the film derails while they are making it and I guess the same thing happened tothe film as well without anything meta about it.

Rating: 1.5/5  

The Florida Project (2017)

Director: Sean Baker
Writers: Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch
DOP: Alexis Sabe
Cast: Brooklyn Prince, Willem Dafoe, Bria Vinaite

Set over one summer, the film follows precocious six-year-old Moonee as she courts mischief and adventure with her ragtag playmates and bonds with her rebellious but caring mother, all while living in the shadows of Walt Disney World.

Films with kids as protagonists are very hard to get right. It is a delicate balance between coming across as too cute or too brat like. My favourite Malayalam kids film is 'Manu Uncle' and it works because the balance is right and the grown up characters in it behaves around kids in a realistic manner, except for a few cartoonish characters. It is a film which works really well for grownups as well.

Florida Project is another film which deals with poverty in USA and can also be classed into post-Subprime crisis genre. Many have lost their homes and are staying in motels on an extended basis with whole families staying in single rooms. Willem Dafoe plays the kind manager of one such motel and it was quite strange to see him play a normal sort of character. Moonee stays with her mum, a white thrash character struggling to make ends meet, in his motel. Her financial situation deteriorates over the course of the summer and this is not portrayed in a melodramatic manner but rather in a matter of fact manner with plenty of humour. What happens at the end is what you're willing to happen as it is the best for all concerned but it still left me quite teary eyed.

Sean Baker got his break with 'Tangerine' which was shot entirely using an i-phone. I only managed to sit through 5 minutes of it. He has got a mixture of experienced and non-experienced actors for this film and quite a bit of street-casting. Juxtaposition of American poverty against the Disney world is something that the director is going for. It took me some time to realise the proximity of Disney World in the film but I guess it was obvious with the funny looking shops and constant takeoffs and landings of helicopters. Kids in the film are just great but their energy levels throughout the film are a tad high. Brooklyn Prince just steals the show. Bria Vinaite, who was cast based on her Instagram profile, is also great as the thoroughly unlikeable single mother.

PS: You can also see the phenomenon of motel owning Patels in the film.

Rating: 4.25/5