Madhuram (2021)

Madhuram (2021)

Directed by: Ahammed Khabeer
Starring: Joju George, Shruti Ramachandran

Streaming on Sony LIV.

The film is bittersweet and honest. It's not too sweet in a way that it seems like this isn't how life is. It shows all the facets of life within very limited number of settings. It shows good elements like falling in love, savoring food, spending time with your friends and family, marriage and it also shows us the harsh realities like dealing with loss, death, longing and pain. Since we experience these wide range of emotions in the film, it doesn't really feel like a single location film - which it mostly is. But even in the hospital, they explore so much of life that it doesn't feel like that. As Baradwaj Rangan once put it, Malayalam cinema captures the 'nothingness of life' beautifully. Even in this film, it's interesting how they explore the world and characters throughout the film, where there isn't much "plot" happening but the film creates an emotionally satisfying effect, just with the ending 20 mins.

The characters in the film are so endearing to watch, because of the simplicity in their lives. Their priorities are simple - food, friends and family. Joju George is beautiful as an actor, because he projects his vulnerability in a very appealing way. Usually such emotions, even though they're done honestly - sometimes they're not as fun to watch. But actors like him can make sure that they're doing it in a honesty and yet interestingly. For some reason, I kept seeing Vijay Sethupathi in him, perhaps because both of them have a similar meter as performers, and in the amount of masculinity and femininity they draw from within. The ending is beautiful - the film and the characters inspire us to love unconditionally and to find hope even in the worst of circumstances.

500 Days of Summer

500 Days of Summer (2009)

Directed by: Marc Webb

Relax guys. It's a re-watch. Don't say, you are watching this film now? But I must admit that it's a different reading than what I had a few years back. Earlier, I sort of didn't get Summer. Now I do. In fact, I've met people like Summer. There is a beautiful quality to indecisiveness - it's honesty - just because they've made a choice they won't stick to it if it doesn't make them happy anymore. Though it's irritating to be around indecisive people, and I'd love to appreciate them from far. Summer is like the protagonist in the Worst Person in the World, who I was madly tripping over. Not looking for anything serious. Not sure about what she wants. Does what she feels like doing. Impulsive. It makes for an interesting character. Although I felt that the makers weren't as empathetic to Summer, for the way the portrayed her. The acting notes felt like they wanted to show Summer like a psychopath, without feelings. 

Tom, poor guy. She told him that she's not looking for anything serious. But men. If they like a woman, they'd never deny getting physical with them. And that's the worst thing to do, explore something casual with someone who you are in love with. It's an offer that you can't deny nor take. It creates such a turmoil inside your head and it creates for a constant sense of battle within. That's exactly what Tom goes through the entire film. He can't blame Summer because she was clear. But he hates her for not reciprocating his feelings either. I absolutely love the usage of montage, and voice over in the film. It's extremely stylish. I like how the film doesn't take a particular worldview on love, it just presents a few and let us decide which side we'd want to take. If it's meant to be. Or not. We never know.

Kadaseela Biriyani

Kadaseela Biriyani (2022)

Co-written and Directed by: Nishanth Kalidindi
Narrated by: Vijay Sethupathi
Streaming on Netflix.

The film is high on style and aesthetics. It is shot in Kerala - has beautiful landscapes already. The way film is shot - it uses interesting B-roll shots of close ups of insects in the forest. In a few scenes, they use interesting sounds as background score, like the sound of crickets, etc. They have solid colors in most of the frames. It has a strong influence of Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction and Gangs of Wasseypur - the usage of black comedy, voice over, the way they capture violence and their style of banal conversations in the film. The film has a weird experience overall - some scenes are extremely interesting, and some scenes, not as much. Although in entirety, the film gives a very distinct experience. In this film, it isn't really so much about the interiors of every scene, it is about the entirety of the experience. Vijay Sethupathi's voice over is done in an interesting way, it has VS's vibe - even the way it's written. I remember the scene where they have a lot of red lights - it's such a tribute to Goodfellas. They use elements like rain, and nature in an interesting way. 

I didn't enjoy the villain character as much - it felt like he was trying to do a mixture of Joker in Batman, Anton Chigurh and a Joe Pesci in terms of making the personality seem weird and scary - but it didn't work that well for me. He seemed scary, yes, but I wasn't enjoying whatever he was doing - which I thought the film was trying to go for. Nevertheless, it's at least not a boring character. It has some mystery to it. And the reason I didn't enjoy as much, could've been a language thing too.

 

DJ Tillu

DJ Tillu (2022)

Directed by: Vimal Krishna
Written by: Vimal Krishna, Siddhu Jonnalagadda

The best part about an actor co-writing for themselves is that they write with a stronger sense of character. They write to their strengths, they add in more idiosyncrasies perhaps with a bit of greed to get more scope for acting - but when it results in a better fleshed out character, then it's a win-win for all. Few other examples being Naveen Polishetti, Woody Allen, Phoebe Waller-Bridge. This aspect is the main strength of the film - DJ Tillu as a character is so interesting because of the way he talks and reacts to even normal situations. Phrases like 'naadhi chala delicate mind' and many more such things add a lot of quirk to the character which ends up in humor as well as authenticity. This resulted in such a strong sense of character, that I can imagine DJ Tillu being a love story as well, with the same character put in different circumstances. Now it is a crime comedy because of the inciting incident. What if the girl is still in love with his ex, and is confused? It'd have been a love story. When the character is so specific, it keeps us hooked irrespective of how the plot is. 

In this film, the plot is pretty simple and normal - it puts enough situations to elicit humor and tension. Although in the 2nd half, it felt a bit dragged only because there was no emotional satisfaction in the plot. Which is why, even after the twists and turns in the film, it didn't feel emotionally satisfying. But the film works as a comedy, it keeps us hooked - it's just that it doesn't go to the next level - which is completely alright because never promised to do that. I'm really enjoying Siddhu's work - in every film of his - there is strong sense of character and depending on the plot they choose - the film lands at a mark from being normal to being really good.

Crazy, Stupid, Love.

Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)

Directed by: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
Written by: Dan Fogelman
Starring: Steve Carrell, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone

Streaming on Amazon Prime.

In the world of modern romance, we don't really resonate much with stories which believe in ideal love, the one, soulmates. We resonate much with moments of connection that are fleeting, we resonate with feelings of solidarity within relationships. Although Dan Fogelman, rekindles our belief in love with his stories. I didn't know that this film was written by him, but I remember feeling the same when I watched the first episode of This Is Us. I was pleasantly surprised with the unapologetic belief in true love. I remember a line from This Is Us, I found my purpose in life when I met you, it was to make you happy. This film talks about how you never give up on the one. Well, the worldview of putting the other person before yourself, it's so different from the game of modern dating, where independence and individuality is seen as a strength, and even the feeling of depending on someone, counting on someone is seen as a weakness - which is exactly why Cal couldn't accept Jacob as his daughter's boyfriend. Well, the only thing different is that the person also has to choose you - the case with the teenage kid - him not giving up wasn't really that great of an advice, because that can easily go into a slippery zone. 

I loved how a lot of plot was seamlessly crafted into the film. The big confrontation scene was hilarious and that's when I realized, oh there's this much happening and I followed every bit of it very seamlessly. Steve Carrell was beautiful - his vulnerability came through very well. I like how they dealt with the wife's character with empathy, and it's almost like they make us travel with it slowly just like how Cal does. In the beginning, we too judge her just like Cal. Eventually, we understand things better, again exactly like Cal - where he says, I'm mad at you, but also at myself.

Gehraiyaan

Gehraiyaan (2022)

Directed by: Shakun Batra
Streaming on Prime

Spoilers Ahead.

Gehraiyaan was marketed like it's a film about infidelity, but it's much deeper than that. The film is high on tension and drama, because it is filled with secrets, revelations and there are lots of moments with terrific tension - for example - the scene where Tia video calls Contractor, the first time when Alisha and Zain kiss in her studio, the scene where Tia confronts Zain and throws her ring away and finally when Alisha sees Zain mixing pills into her drink. All these scenes create tension by the difference in knowledge between the audience and the characters. The audience knows more than the characters. I loved how Tia doesn't know about the affair till the very ending, and how the film ends. It's beautiful. I like how Zain is torn between the two women and how he changes his side according to the situation. At first, he gets carried away and thinks that he can have whatever he wants to. Later, he realizes that he's in trouble and that he still has a shot at life if he cleans this up and by killing Alisha.

I like how Alisha's character is designed with the help of childhood trauma - the way they use flash cuts in between is very interesting. I love how they set up the flashback in a way the whole time, and put a big twist on it. Because by now, we like Alisha are empathizing with the idea that one shouldn't be stuck and if they are getting a better deal in life, they should go for it even if it's "wrong". But after we get to know that Alisha's mother was having an affair, the entire worldview of the film suddenly changes. Till that point, the one thing Alisha didn't want to do is become like her mother and she exactly did the same as what her mother did. I loved the film for the way it carried tension throughout the runtime - as good as a thriller.

Hridayam (2021)

Hridayam (2021)

Written and Directed by: Vineeth Srinivasan
Starring: Pranav Mohanlal, Darshana Rajendran, Kalyani Priyadarshan

Hridayam is a film that is exactly in my zone, in fact it has a lot of similarities to one of my own screenplays. So I had to watch this film for sure. I loved the vibe of the film, it's breezy, subliminal, and at times deep too. It's beautifully executed. In the beginning, I was not so sure but I was eventually drawn to Pranav and his charm, although I felt that he could've done the voice over better. I like how the film takes the character on a rollercoaster ride - there are ups and downs. Like the entire, alcohol phase, and the phase where he decides to stop everything and get clean. Although what I felt at certain places was that, the screenplay was deliberately structured in a way for the character to have wider range of experiences. It didn't seem so natural. Darshana's character was interesting - but I wasn't very convinced that she wouldn't have moved on from him even before his wedding. But I absolutely loved the pre-interval scene where she asks him about how life would've been if she forgave him earlier. It just shows how sometimes, we end up losing so much because of our own anger - although in this case it's justified too. 

I really enjoyed how the film made me feel nostalgic. Although towards the ending, it felt like a bit of a drag because after the marriage, apart from him regaining his conscious there wasn't really much happening. I like how the director holds his ground in terms of character - like he doesn't explain each and every motive of every character and sometimes it even feels instinctive. I didn't enjoy the climax when he again goes to the Secret Alley, because for the character he's revisiting after 10 years, but for us it happened right in the film and we're looking at it again. So it felt a bit repetitive like that. Although I'm just writing about what didn't work for me in the film, because usually this is the space that I really enjoy watching. I enjoyed the film, and the music was also beautiful.  

Edge of Seventeen

The Edge of Seventeen (2016)

Written and Directed by: Kelly Fremon Craig

Starring: Hailee Steinfeld, Woody Harrelson

Streaming on Netflix.

It's a nice slice of life, coming of age film. It captures the feeling of being a misfit very well. It's weird how a lot of us feel as misfits, when misfit by definition means the odd one out. How can a majority of people in a group feel like a misfit individually? So it's perhaps that we all have our own set of issues which makes us feel that we're somehow not enough and hence the feeling of being a misfit. Or in some good cases, you feel good about yourself and still feel a misfit. This film deals with the first case. She always felt like the odd one out, until she found her best friend. And that's a very nicely done subplot. Although the trouble I had in understanding was, why her best friend dating her brother was such big of an issue. Of course, she'll not spend enough time with her from then - but at some point, she will have to date someone. And why was she dating her brother such an issue. I get it, it's weird because she saw them in the act. But beyond that? I wish this aspect was a bit more clear. 

Apart from that, the entire setting and the tone of the film has that coming-of-age tone to it. Woody Harrelson's character is interesting, because of the sense of the mystery he carries around, which typical teenagers get attracted to. I like how by the end of the film, she's finally at a better place and she feels that she has some place for her in this world.

After Life

After Life S1

Written and Directed by: Ricky Gervais

Streaming on Netflix.

It's such a bittersweet show. Just the premise by itself is tragic. A guy who was madly in love with his wife loses her to cancer. He is depressed and suicidal now. The affirming part is about how this man manages to live a little longer and eventually gets himself to a better path. Such characters who act arrogant, and have a deep reason for why they behave like this - Arjun Reddy - are hilarious simply because of the difference in their core behavior. Their normalcy is so screwed up that you can put them in any situation and create comedy out of it. That's what the show does to rely on the comic part. For the dramatic part, it's his character arc from being a hopeless, suicidal man to someone who believes that there can be something to live for. Ricky Gervais was lovely in the show, it felt like he was so brutally honest and he put all his vulnerabilities out there just like that.

Some of the lines in the show are absolutely terrific - I would do nothing and be with her, rather than do something without her. I would rather be alive and miss him than him staying alive and missing me. Every day I always wanted to go home and spend every second with Lisa, and I don't regret one bit of that choice. Yes, some of these lines sound so superlative - but the integrity behind these thoughts came through. I like how the tone of the show is very soothing. The only beat in the show that didn't work as much for me was him giving money to the guy who was an addict, and him dying. But apart from that, everything worked for me. I'm curious to see how the show progresses.  

Hannah Takes the Stairs

Hannah Takes the Stairs (2007)

Directed, Shot and Edited by: Joe Swanberg
Written by: Joe Swanberg, Greta Gerwig, Kent Osborne
Streaming on MUBI. 

This film falls in the Mumblecore movement - a sub genre of independent cinema. Typically Mumblecore films are made on extremely low budget, they are quite talky in nature, have few actors with improvised dialogue. Films which probably work on this tone, but made in a slightly more big scale and a structured way would be the Before Trilogy, and such films. This movement has taken cinema to one extreme, which has in turn opened up so much more in terms of the style. Many films need not be Mumblecore, but they can fall anywhere in the middle of the spectrum, according to the story. 

This film doesn't call attention to itself, and even to its characters. The vibe of the film is such that there are a few friends sitting beside you and bantering, and it's like you are sitting there, partly zoned out, but partly invested and you stay with them for an hour or two and then come back to your own world. That's the kind of experience the film gives. It's in a way very sublime. It's inspiring to see where all the filmmakers started from, now all of them are doing pretty good - Greta Gerwig, Joe Swanberg, Mark Duplass and others. Though I didn't engage very much with the film and its characters, I really didn't mind it only because of its tone and aesthetics and I felt like I was hanging around a bunch of people bantering. 

Conversations with Other Women

Conversations with Other Women (2005)

Directed by: Hans Canosa
Screenplay by: Gabrielle Zevin
Starring: Helena Bonham Carter, Aaron Eckhart

It's a very ordinary premise, two people who were once dating meet each other at a wedding after many years when both of them have significant others. But the way the premise is unfolded is interesting, they both start talking as strangers initially, and slowly we understand that they've known each other, and then we know that they've had a history. The film cuts back to vignettes of their younger selves, and we see how they have changed as people. I think it talks about the aspect of how when you meet a set of friends you had when you were young, you automatically become like the group just because you again talk the same language with them. I don't know if the same would happen with a relationship, because if it's one person, you don't have that social image that you have to live up to. You can be yourself and tell the other person that you've changed. 

To me, one of the weirdest things people do is that, once they have an image created of them, they live up to it, even if they don't agree to that image. I don't know if this is self sabotaging tendency or something weird. If someone is called dumb 5 times in a group, that person instinctively starts being dumb the next time too, because he is the assigned dumb one. Well this film doesn't talk about all these things, but it definitely talks about revisiting your past self through meeting people in your life. Although I felt that the writing was a bit messy and too idiosyncratic, perhaps because of the headspace of the characters, but I never got a chance to root for them.