Attn : Dr Leela Abraham
Disclaimer:
I am not a movie reviewer. If you haven't watched the movie go watch. Or don't. Your choice. This does contain spoilers though, so don't blame me after reading. This movie will be special to me as my first movie date, albeit with myself. So that's that.
To those of you, who hated it before it even released, he is past his prime, etc.- Seriously? This is somebody's work. Hours. Agony. Detailing. The knowledge that you just put your work out there for the world to rip apart. Just putting out 5 blog posts this month, with zero investment other than time, drives me to the tip. You do the math.Sometimes people understand the story you want to tell them, sometimes they don't.
To those of you who say only people with taste will understand, etc. - Again, seriously? It is never a matter of taste. There is a saying common in hospitals. The eyes see what the mind knows. Everyone sees what they know and can understand. There is no right or wrong.
As I said this movie will always be special to me and it might not be possible for me to forget what I saw till I die. I can see the scenes as I type this. I am sure there are deeper meanings to everything that I am incapable of understanding yet.
I watched expecting the one thing that MR- ARR movies always make me feel- like I am the one in love. I watch entirely for the feels. For that, yes was a disappointment. However I did feel other things I did not see coming.
Lets start with what hit me hard.
The opening sequence where he falls down into the forest. It could have been the end of his life. He was free falling without her. I am going to skip the reflection in the car, the swagger, the car turning etc. This is just for us to know he knew he was good and loved it.
The moment where you can see her reflection in his eyes. I don't know if this has anything to with the Kanmani business but that shot kept me in awe. I was so happy that they showed this scene twice, I could watch it all day.
Her costumes, the entry especially were top notch. The receptionist who wouldn't pay attention, the nurse who says " Oh! you're the duty doctor now!" - very true, very real. Except Leela's scant regard for hygiene maybe. I literally know zero doctors who would touch an accident case without gloves on. Zero. It shouldn't be irking me, but it does. Leela, universal safety precautions, always. Also the fact that she wants to keep a critical patient because ' My first patient, he came here first ' - again, zero doctors I know would do that. Leela, you always send them to a higher centre if critical, if any of those things you were worried he had, might be true.
I don't know the name of the actor who played Nidhi, but if she ever taught dancing, I'd sign up. That girl can move!! After years of watching dances in movies that look scripted, it was nice to watch somebody dance all flowy, like she wanted to dance to the rhythm and she danced like she loved it.
I loved the moments on the plane, the part where she asks him for permission to scream, those were sweet moments to watch. He already comes across as an arrogant asshole but she obviously doesn't care.
The avalanche to me was two things- One he was like a brute, he had no idea how to deal with a girl like her. He thought he could use force but he really didn't know how to deal with somebody like her.
The second was, how they both were going to destroy each other. Atleast that's what struck me.
Then comes the brother's wedding. I'm sure all the out-of-wedlock babies in the Pillai family mean something, no idea what though. I couldn't understand why it was a cross of a mehendi, wedding, seemandam and holi though. Just for the visuals? The costumes contrasting with the hospital looked great though. It was like shot 1 - magical musical synchronised dance land. Shot2 : back to reality.
The friction between father and son, the relationship with his siblings, all etched beautifully- it shows you why he is the way he is. Except for the fish curry and Bharati which he says he grew up on- I always thought Bharatiyar was the feminist of his times. How somebody who could be obsessed with him, had such scant respect for women, is beyond me.
I felt anger when he yells at her in the hospital, rage. You don't get to talk to me like that, except he wasn't talking to me.
The jail scenes in themselves were a beautiful mix of darkness and light, pain and joy. I loved the moment where he gets shades, it is like he gets his mojo back. Another thing that struck me was he remembers everything except how she said his name, which is exactly how it is. You remember everything about a person. All the details. But somewhere along the line you forget their voice. How they used to talk to you.
And we are back to anger with the cap scene. I felt so mad I wanted to punch him. Why she would go back to him I could not understand. His friends were right. She deserved better.
Nallai allai was a surprise in terms of no bgm, it was like he really sang it. She walked to him like a moth towards the flame while I literally was facepalming. Run away. But no.
The scene when he gets back in the rain, she looked more scared of him than in love with him. Also Leela if he openly says he manipulated you to win a bet, you run away, you don't go bang the guy!
The wedding registration business reminded me a lot of Ted Bundy, who this very well might be based on, wouldn't know. Again he humiliates her and she takes it. I was seething by this point.
How can you be so stupid, but then again, it is a reality. Women accept any kind of love they think they deserve. Even toxic love.
One thing about him though, his eyes never lied.Throughout the movie, his eyes said what his words didn't. It could have been a silent movie, and you'd have still understood every bit.
The escape itself was good to watch. The planning. The way they stick their heads out. What I loved the most was the background music though. That guitar. Damn. He starts hearing her voice as they get closer which was a beautiful detail to mention. He was getting his hope back.
The ending yes, was a little flat for me.I couldn't feel anything. Lovers meeting again. Getting back together. It was supposed to hit you hard. It did in every other movie. With them, it never felt like love, more like abuse maybe. I get it he is a changed man, it's a new life. But it did leave me feeling, that's it?
I am still reeling from the visuals. The anger. The sadness. Like I said, I felt emotions I didn't expect to feel. As a Kargil story, perfect. As a love story, it was like drinking decoction first - super strong black coffee, it hits you hard, keeps you awake ; milk next - can be consumed alone but doesn't let you enjoy the aftertaste of the black coffee; and sugar at the end - sweet, but leaves you feeling incomplete. If you wanted Kaapi, you would be disappointed.
However, if you give it a chance, not expecting anything - just go and watch a story unfold, it works well as a story, just not as a love story.
Would I watch again. Maybe on TV, years from now, for memories sake. Will I show up for the earliest show possible for MR's next movie? Hell yes.
I am not a movie reviewer. If you haven't watched the movie go watch. Or don't. Your choice. This does contain spoilers though, so don't blame me after reading. This movie will be special to me as my first movie date, albeit with myself. So that's that.
To those of you, who hated it before it even released, he is past his prime, etc.- Seriously? This is somebody's work. Hours. Agony. Detailing. The knowledge that you just put your work out there for the world to rip apart. Just putting out 5 blog posts this month, with zero investment other than time, drives me to the tip. You do the math.Sometimes people understand the story you want to tell them, sometimes they don't.
To those of you who say only people with taste will understand, etc. - Again, seriously? It is never a matter of taste. There is a saying common in hospitals. The eyes see what the mind knows. Everyone sees what they know and can understand. There is no right or wrong.
I watched expecting the one thing that MR- ARR movies always make me feel- like I am the one in love. I watch entirely for the feels. For that, yes was a disappointment. However I did feel other things I did not see coming.
Lets start with what hit me hard.
The opening sequence where he falls down into the forest. It could have been the end of his life. He was free falling without her. I am going to skip the reflection in the car, the swagger, the car turning etc. This is just for us to know he knew he was good and loved it.
The moment where you can see her reflection in his eyes. I don't know if this has anything to with the Kanmani business but that shot kept me in awe. I was so happy that they showed this scene twice, I could watch it all day.
Her costumes, the entry especially were top notch. The receptionist who wouldn't pay attention, the nurse who says " Oh! you're the duty doctor now!" - very true, very real. Except Leela's scant regard for hygiene maybe. I literally know zero doctors who would touch an accident case without gloves on. Zero. It shouldn't be irking me, but it does. Leela, universal safety precautions, always. Also the fact that she wants to keep a critical patient because ' My first patient, he came here first ' - again, zero doctors I know would do that. Leela, you always send them to a higher centre if critical, if any of those things you were worried he had, might be true.
I don't know the name of the actor who played Nidhi, but if she ever taught dancing, I'd sign up. That girl can move!! After years of watching dances in movies that look scripted, it was nice to watch somebody dance all flowy, like she wanted to dance to the rhythm and she danced like she loved it.
I loved the moments on the plane, the part where she asks him for permission to scream, those were sweet moments to watch. He already comes across as an arrogant asshole but she obviously doesn't care.
The avalanche to me was two things- One he was like a brute, he had no idea how to deal with a girl like her. He thought he could use force but he really didn't know how to deal with somebody like her.
The second was, how they both were going to destroy each other. Atleast that's what struck me.
Then comes the brother's wedding. I'm sure all the out-of-wedlock babies in the Pillai family mean something, no idea what though. I couldn't understand why it was a cross of a mehendi, wedding, seemandam and holi though. Just for the visuals? The costumes contrasting with the hospital looked great though. It was like shot 1 - magical musical synchronised dance land. Shot2 : back to reality.
The friction between father and son, the relationship with his siblings, all etched beautifully- it shows you why he is the way he is. Except for the fish curry and Bharati which he says he grew up on- I always thought Bharatiyar was the feminist of his times. How somebody who could be obsessed with him, had such scant respect for women, is beyond me.
I felt anger when he yells at her in the hospital, rage. You don't get to talk to me like that, except he wasn't talking to me.
The jail scenes in themselves were a beautiful mix of darkness and light, pain and joy. I loved the moment where he gets shades, it is like he gets his mojo back. Another thing that struck me was he remembers everything except how she said his name, which is exactly how it is. You remember everything about a person. All the details. But somewhere along the line you forget their voice. How they used to talk to you.
And we are back to anger with the cap scene. I felt so mad I wanted to punch him. Why she would go back to him I could not understand. His friends were right. She deserved better.
Nallai allai was a surprise in terms of no bgm, it was like he really sang it. She walked to him like a moth towards the flame while I literally was facepalming. Run away. But no.
The scene when he gets back in the rain, she looked more scared of him than in love with him. Also Leela if he openly says he manipulated you to win a bet, you run away, you don't go bang the guy!
The wedding registration business reminded me a lot of Ted Bundy, who this very well might be based on, wouldn't know. Again he humiliates her and she takes it. I was seething by this point.
How can you be so stupid, but then again, it is a reality. Women accept any kind of love they think they deserve. Even toxic love.
One thing about him though, his eyes never lied.Throughout the movie, his eyes said what his words didn't. It could have been a silent movie, and you'd have still understood every bit.
The escape itself was good to watch. The planning. The way they stick their heads out. What I loved the most was the background music though. That guitar. Damn. He starts hearing her voice as they get closer which was a beautiful detail to mention. He was getting his hope back.
The ending yes, was a little flat for me.I couldn't feel anything. Lovers meeting again. Getting back together. It was supposed to hit you hard. It did in every other movie. With them, it never felt like love, more like abuse maybe. I get it he is a changed man, it's a new life. But it did leave me feeling, that's it?
I am still reeling from the visuals. The anger. The sadness. Like I said, I felt emotions I didn't expect to feel. As a Kargil story, perfect. As a love story, it was like drinking decoction first - super strong black coffee, it hits you hard, keeps you awake ; milk next - can be consumed alone but doesn't let you enjoy the aftertaste of the black coffee; and sugar at the end - sweet, but leaves you feeling incomplete. If you wanted Kaapi, you would be disappointed.
However, if you give it a chance, not expecting anything - just go and watch a story unfold, it works well as a story, just not as a love story.
Would I watch again. Maybe on TV, years from now, for memories sake. Will I show up for the earliest show possible for MR's next movie? Hell yes.
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