All the world’s a stage…
It surely is no exaggeration to say that Lijo Jose Pelissery (“LJP”) is one of the exciting directors in Malayalam cinema, nay, Indian cinema today. His movies like Angamaly Diaries and Ee Maa Yau showcased his talent and domination of the language of cinema. While Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam (NNM) doesn’t exactly reach the heights of the aforementioned movies, it still remains a strong addition to the directors ouevre and an interesting work of cinema that tries to break conventions and makes the viewer think deeply on its meaning.
I don’t really want to reveal anything about the story. I did end up reading the basic plotline of the movie before watching it and in hindsight I believe the experience would have been much better going in cold and letting the engima unwrap itself in front of you slowly. And slow it is. The movie ambles along at an unhurried pace, like a meditative torpor before an afternoon siesta. In reality, what we are witnessing is LJP meticulously putting together a finely crafted jigsaw puzzle where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. He doesn’t want you to worry about what the jigsaw would look like when its finished but to admire each piece at a time and immerse yourself in that reality. Every scene of this jigsaw is composed with care and attention. Even the background score of radio and TV audio of retro Tamil movies has been purposefully chosen to reflect what is happening on the screen at the moment. In a typical LJP movie the camera is always restless and in momentum. Here it is but a silent observer sitting on the sidelines. Even then the cinematography is quite inventive with some renaissance painting-like frames here and some frame-within-frame compositions there that adds layers to otherwise simple visuals. The staging of scenes is often like a theater play which is a recurring motif in this movie with the characters being part of a drama troupe and one of them even whimsically proclaiming “All the world’s a stage…” when wondering why they are facing such a predicament.
The movie reminded me of one of LJP’s previous works: Jallikattu. In that movie, a bull running amok in the countryside lead the villagers on a anguished chase to capture it. As the chase continues through the day, the villagers become increasingly desperate, plunging into darkness of the day and their own minds leading to infighting and violence. LJP seemed to be showing that when confronted with desperation, the primal nature of man will always come to the fore. In stark contrast, NNM takes a more optimistic worldview. The Catholic Malayalee villagers and Hindu Tamil Villagers start out with mutual suspicion and dislike but the chase in this movie leads them to come together instead, opening up their homes and hearts to each other. LJP clearly is presenting an alternative vision to the dystopian reality of Jallikattu.
In all this, the movie reminded me of another recent critically acclaimed Tamil movie — Kadaisi Vivasayi directed by Manikandan. Both movies are a slow-burn while offering a convincing slice-of-life portrayal of Tamil Nadu’s villages featuring mostly amateur actors who lend an additional veneer of authenticity. Both movies are an optimistic commentary on the inherent kindness, generosity and benevelonce of humans especially in villages. Both movies linger on the edges of magical realism and probe into faith in miracles and God. Lastly, both movies are helmed by directors at the peak of their craft featuring virtuoso performances from their lead actors. However, Manikandan’s movie follows a more conventional story-telling and film-making format and comes off the better for it.
I have spent this entire review talking about everything but the one factor that holds this movie glued together — a powerhouse performance from Mammootty. Many on social media have declared it one of his best performances but I am too young a student of his work to make such an audacious statement. What I do know is he lights up the screen with every scene he is present in, whether as the curmudgeon James or his virtuous but confused alter-ego. An actor pulling off this kind of role, dabbling easily between two different spoken and body languages is whats usually considered as a straight Oscar-bait. The fact that Mammootty produced this movie goes to show his interest in furthering the boundaries of cinema and in India that’s what truly separates the great actors from the good. It feels a bit contemptuous to talk about box office for a movie like this but it didn’t really have a good run when it was released in the theaters. However, I would be surprised if either LJP or Mammootty did not anticipate that. To paraphrase a famous quote: “Not all movies are made for a box office victory, some are made to show how a movie can be made.”
