Saturday 30 April 2011

Melvilaasom

2011 by Madhav Ramdas

A soldier who was guarding his regiment opened fire at two superior officers killing one and seriously injuring the other. He is to be Court Marshalled. By his own statement and by that of the witnesses he has nil chance to save himself, but one officer pleads for him, not to save him, but to bring forth the motive behind the murder.

This was adapted from a famous drama directed by Surya Krishnamoorthy. It is quite a first attempt for Malayalam movie that the camera doesn't go out of the court room (There was a similar kind of effort earlier, Galelio, if my memory is right, but it was not just inside a room) and all the characters are male Military officials, except for a cameo by a little girl. In that way, this is a novel and brave effort for a Malayalam movie.

But as a movie, I am afraid, it is rather a failure. The script (in fact it is all just one scene) is still like a drama and the dialogues are perfect for a drama version, rather than for a movie. Still the director could have done something to modulate the dialogue deliveries to suit it for a movie. But... The movie begins in an excellent way. The title shots are really good. And then you have a wide angle shot of the court room. The moment some soldiers walk in and start talking, we realise this is going to be a terrible experience. The characters, all of them except the convict, are screaming out their dialogues as if they are been told that the recording power of the mike is poor. (Of course, this is dubbed, but then that makes it even worse)  I thought, the plot is quite interesting and we too feel like knowing the motive behind the murder and there are also some good points, which unfurl as the motive is clear (which are rather truth behind the upper caste controlled Indian military), but we feel rather like watching a drama than a movie.

If only the dialogue delivery were more muted or more subtle, this would have been a better watch. It doesnt mean, there are no other problems. But I would rather like to look at the good things, than nit picking, especially when its a different attempt, that too from a debutant director. But I am afraid, there isnt much to praise. Parthipan, as the convict does his role well. Suresh Gopi as his pleader is doing the same thing that he does always.