adindia

adindia

Thursday 19 September 2013

Review: Cleetus fails to get his act together

Just like any other director, debutant G Marthaandan has also made a film. He made it like a recipe with all the required ingredients in required measures. For a discerning connoisseur what it falls short of is the required taste.

The director and script writer Benny P Nayarambalam took care of only avoiding a bad taste. So what they dished out was something, which lacks flavour, aroma or delightful taste. However, with a good storyline, though strewn with incongruous coincidences, they missed out on making a delicious delicacy. 

The film Daivathinte Swantham Cleetus revolves around Cleetus, played by Mammootty, a dreaded long-haired rogue, who is roped in by a parish priest for the role of Jesus Christ for a light and sound show for their upcoming festival. The events triggered by the mood-swings of Cleetus and the unfolding of his past are the decisive events prior to final staging of the show, which the film is all about.

The movie chugs ahead with a simple but fabricated situations delivering comic effects here and there. Nevertheless, the early incidents pull the audience into the story. However, when the film progresses, one may not be able to imagine Mammootty as a perfect choice for the role of Jesus Christ for a light and sound show. Not all the musical effects and the scenic maneuvers could keep the conspicuous disparity at bay. Nor does he convinces as a goon. All Mammootty thrives on is his personal charm. 

The story grows up, though engagingly, like a disfigured banyan. Its supportive aerial roots are weak. The crux of every scene is substantial. But the preceding developments lack perfection in their execution.

Siddiqe as Father Sunny puts up a grand show and adds another feather to his cap. Though Lakshmi, played by Honey Rose opposite Mammootty, is a major character she doesn't have much to do in the film. 

Tesni Khan impresses, in a supporting role, in what ever little space she has managed. The Rejith Menon-Sanam Shetty pair keeps itself  close to the environs of storyline. 



The sloth in the character of Cleetus really impedes the visual impact, more so when it comes to the action sequences performed by the ruthless conman. 

Balachandran performs well but it's definitely time for something different to be written for him. Kailesh in a short but prominent role does impress with his performance and changed looks. Suraj Venjaramood and Aju Verghese too do their job with elan.

The makers seem confused in dealing with the sequences that lead to the climax. The collage of  events, which are not explanatory, makes the situation worse. The background score overlaps across the grave and light situations and remove the required barriers that could have given some shape to the wave of sequences. It's a bit perplexing why Bijibal could not bring about something noteworthy in his music this time around. 

However, Rafeeq Ahmed and Murukan Kattakkada did pen some perfect lines which could have become masterpieces, had the film risen to the desired level. Shyam Sasidharan is found wanting in the department of editing. 

The locales are magnificent. All the simplistic aspects notwithstanding, the flow of the film is striking as it will not put you to stupor. But it's a simple curry which will just engage you, that's all.

Rating: 2.5/5

No comments:

Post a Comment

Popular Posts