When you watch Maryan, the first thing that will strike you is the rawness of the movie. The way the characters look, the food they eat, the clothes they wear everything is straight out of a fishing village in southern Tamil nadu. In most of the recent, gritty realistic sons of the village movies, directors let one flaw seep in. They paint the lead actress white. Here, director, Bharat Bala didn't even let that happen. The lead actress, Parvathy Menon, with her extra-ordinarily powerful performance, is also one of the strongest suits of the movie.
Though the movie is titled after the male character, Maryan, played to perfection by Dhanush, the movie is more about Maryan's love for Panimalar. How her memories pushes him to escape his abductors and unite with her. Dhanush's choice of movies in the last five years, and his sustained performances with that fire in his eyes, deserve every ounce of praise that he has been receiving. This movie adds to his already impressive repertoire of roles.
Spoilers
The plot of the movie, inspired by true events, is mostly straightforward and extremely rich in drama and tension. The first half is essentially the story of how Panimalar and Maryan fall in love. Maryan, who knows nothing but the ocean is then forced to go to Sudan to earn a better living. As he is about to return he is kidnapped by local militia and held for ransom. He escapes from his abductors and runs across the desert before being spotted by friendly locals and taken to safety.
/Spoilers
What made this a truly nice movie to watch was the technical team. The camera work (Mark Knocix) was phenomenal. Both the ocean and the dessert were picturised perfectly. Even at times when the movie slows down, you are watching something very beautiful and so you tend to be satisfied. The background score is also excellent. The second half is pretty much 127 hours territory and Rahman actually betters himself. Another thing I noticed was that the sound was engineered very well too. The songs are all very good as well. Especially the inspiring Nenju Ezhu and the gloomy Yenga pona rasa. Most of the songs are situational but a couple of dance numbers also exist. These dance numbers are one of the few negative points of this movie. These unnecessary songs also make the movie feel a tad too long. But even given these minor negatives the movie was an extremely satisfying watch.
I really hope we see more such movies in mainstream commercial cinema. Movies, where the masala and the action are inherent in the script!
Though the movie is titled after the male character, Maryan, played to perfection by Dhanush, the movie is more about Maryan's love for Panimalar. How her memories pushes him to escape his abductors and unite with her. Dhanush's choice of movies in the last five years, and his sustained performances with that fire in his eyes, deserve every ounce of praise that he has been receiving. This movie adds to his already impressive repertoire of roles.
Spoilers
The plot of the movie, inspired by true events, is mostly straightforward and extremely rich in drama and tension. The first half is essentially the story of how Panimalar and Maryan fall in love. Maryan, who knows nothing but the ocean is then forced to go to Sudan to earn a better living. As he is about to return he is kidnapped by local militia and held for ransom. He escapes from his abductors and runs across the desert before being spotted by friendly locals and taken to safety.
/Spoilers
What made this a truly nice movie to watch was the technical team. The camera work (Mark Knocix) was phenomenal. Both the ocean and the dessert were picturised perfectly. Even at times when the movie slows down, you are watching something very beautiful and so you tend to be satisfied. The background score is also excellent. The second half is pretty much 127 hours territory and Rahman actually betters himself. Another thing I noticed was that the sound was engineered very well too. The songs are all very good as well. Especially the inspiring Nenju Ezhu and the gloomy Yenga pona rasa. Most of the songs are situational but a couple of dance numbers also exist. These dance numbers are one of the few negative points of this movie. These unnecessary songs also make the movie feel a tad too long. But even given these minor negatives the movie was an extremely satisfying watch.
I really hope we see more such movies in mainstream commercial cinema. Movies, where the masala and the action are inherent in the script!
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