Alas, Gautham Menon has taken the shortcut like AG Murugadoss!! Pachai Kili Muthucharam is an exact remake of Clive Owen & Jennifer Anniston starrer Derailed (2005). And you know what...that's just SAD!! And you know why?? (A) What a lousy movie to remake (B) Looks like one of my favorite directors is running on an empty tank. 'Vettayadu Vilayaadu' was a classy example of "style over substance" - fast cuts, wide lens, peppy background score...all glitter, but if you look closely its all fluff!
I heard that Gautham started adapting the book even before the Hollywood version was made, and that he wanted to make this movie even before VV. However, after watching the movie, I definitely feel that he has been heavily inspired by the original movie.
One look at the villain will tell you that Milind Soman is made to look like Vincent Cassell from the original, Jyothika is made to look flashy like Jennifer Anniston, a lot of the scenes look alike - even the villain's sidekick looks similar!!
The actions of the main character are so stupid that I actually began to cheer on the bad guys. First the leads have an affair and get caught by a thief. And instead of reporting it to the police and notifying their spouses, they don't do anything. Then the thief comes back and blackmails them. They pay and don't tell anyone. So the thief blackmails them for more. He keeps digging himself deeper and deeper with no plan for escape. How much more of a wuss and idiot can a person be? To enjoy a movie, you need to relate to or care for at least one of the characters. The main characters are completely unsympathetic!
This movie succeeds only on the level of the performances. Well dont misunderstand me...what I mean is that the characterization is bad, but the acting is quite good. Sarath has given a subdued performance without any over-the-top tendencies. He brings a maturity required for the role. Jo, cast against type is also very believable in her role. She handles her toughest scene well. Milind Soman is the surprise package - he is awesome and fits his character with ease. He has a lot of fun with the role of smug villain. Andrea looks fresh, and is good in her role as woman who has to contend with her husband’s indiscretion.
My issues are with the believability of the story and with many of the things going on with the leads. There is also a tacked on ending that simply does not belong. They added it because it seems that every movie these days needs to have a twist.
*** Possible Spoilers ***
The actions of the main character are so stupid that I actually began to cheer on the bad guys. First the leads have an affair and get caught by a thief. And instead of reporting it to the police and notifying their spouses, they don't do anything. Then the thief comes back and blackmails them. They pay and don't tell anyone. So the thief blackmails them for more. He keeps digging himself deeper and deeper with no plan for escape. How much more of a wuss and idiot can a person be? To enjoy a movie, you need to relate to or care for at least one of the characters. The main characters are completely unsympathetic!
This movie succeeds only on the level of the performances. Well dont misunderstand me...what I mean is that the characterization is bad, but the acting is quite good. Sarath has given a subdued performance without any over-the-top tendencies. He brings a maturity required for the role. Jo, cast against type is also very believable in her role. She handles her toughest scene well. Milind Soman is the surprise package - he is awesome and fits his character with ease. He has a lot of fun with the role of smug villain. Andrea looks fresh, and is good in her role as woman who has to contend with her husband’s indiscretion.
My issues are with the believability of the story and with many of the things going on with the leads. There is also a tacked on ending that simply does not belong. They added it because it seems that every movie these days needs to have a twist.
Music by Harris Jeyaraj is OK. A couple of songs are hummable, and BGM is not too bad.
Finally, for a thriller to thrill, it'd better rely on solid writing. It should be able to flow easily, secrets surrounded by a veil of mystery and with the awareness that the whole package is important. Thrillers tend to start off very slow. Heck, most of my favorite thrillers are very methodical. However, this movie was anything but deliberately methodical. It was just sloppy. The plot has no twist, is easy to guess after 30 minutes, and I had to laugh that the movie was marketed as a "taut thriller". Please. Give the audience some credit for intelligence.
Rating: 5.0 / 10
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