Bougainvillea

When Amal Neerad announced a new movie with Fahadh Faasil, I was excited to see what they'd have in store for us. Their combination in Iyobinte Pusthakam and Varathan produced some cinematic fireworks. This time they teamed up in a new psychological thriller Bougainvillea. Bougainvillea is thriller involving David Koshy, played by Fahadh Faasil, who is sets out to investigate missing girls and women from a town in Kerala where Reethu, played by Jyothirmayi, and her husband Dr. Royce Thomas, played by Kunchacko Boban live. Reethu and Royce meet with a car accident 8 years ago and as a result Reethu loses her memory. How is she related to the missing girls and why is David Koshy investigating Reethu despite her memory loss forms the rest of the story.

In typical Amal Neerad style, the movie is packed with technical brilliance. Be it the screenplay, cinematography, editing or sound. Amal leaves us enough breadcrumbs throughout the plot for us to guess what might be going on and we will be able to. As this is a psychological thriller and not a suspense thriller. The thrill comes from the "howdunnit?" instead of the "whodunnit?" aspect. I must say that Amal was successful in generating that interest till the climax.

This story is based on a novel called "Ruthinte Lokam" (Ruth's World) written by Lijo Jose, who co-wrote this movie with Amal Neerad. Jyothirmayi delivers a solid performance as ailing Reethu who is struggling to make sense of the happenings around her. So was Kunchacko Boban as Royce Thomas who stands support to her wife. Fahadh Faasil delivers an ok performance in a character that had barely any scope to perform.

While the movie keeps you engaging, it needed a better act 3 and climax to deliver that thrill. But unfortunately, this ended up being an average and unsatisfying watch.

I watched the movie on its release day, and the first half was absolutely gripping. It's a slow-burner, but if you're invested, you'll feel the anticipation and excitement building as the story unfolds. The film keeps you on the edge of your seat, with a narrative path reminiscent of movies like The Sixth Sense or The Prestige-constantly surprising you with twists you can't predict.

However, the second half didn't quite live up to the expectations set by the first. The suspense, while intriguing, missed the mark it was aiming for. Still, it's a great watch overall. The cinematography, background score, music, and acting are all top-notch. I just wish the second half had delivered more impact. Nevertheless, it's definitely a must-see.

Had a great expectations after the trailer , and saw FAHAD in it and AMAL NEERAD the director ... But this turned out disappointing thriller sans any proper logic and the crux was not at all clear and was hurried at the end ... Though the initial buildup to story was slow burning and looked interesting... Acting was best level from the leads but FAHAD role was a damp squib and not sure why he accepted such a role unless he owes a movie to the director .... While the main was to take a thriller u cannot do any nonsense and something which does not make any sense showing some 20% and leaving 80% for audience imagination which is illogical... Overall a highly boring thriller movie from a good crew.

I normally enjoy watching Amal Neerad's movies, even his Varathan, which despite being a copy of Straw Dogs, was eminently watchable. So I sat down to watch Bougainvillea with great expectations, but it turned out to be a massive letdown!

Amal is famous for his stylised movies, and thats what catches your eye in the beginning... and then as time passes, you realise that this movie is all style and no content!

Despite being a movie with 2.5 hours of run-time, Amal spends a lot of time laying the foundation of a mystery, introducing the characters, so much so that the movie drags on and on before he seems to realise that the time is almost up and he needs to wind up.

Amal and Fahad's ACP don't do any proper investigations, there are no clues to be found, no suspicious characters lurking about, no background check about anyone, no nothing.

Deeply saddened to see Fahad being wasted in an extended cameo playing the role of an ACP investigating the crime. Since Fahad is here, his role could have been built into a full-fledged meaty role - of an ACP who finally cracks the mystery. But Amal fails here too. Fahad's ACP does not detect anything... Amal's story and screenplay fails in this regard too.

Then who solves the actual mystery? Well, nobody! And maybe thats why the villain decides to come out and disclose the mystery himself - he must have got tired waiting for the police to catch him?

Amal too probably realised that the mystery has to be resolved, and we all need to go home, right? And he winds up in an almighty hurry!

Similar was the case with Sharfuddeen, another talent wasted as a taxi driver (!), with practically no dialogues to speak!

My rating is 4 stars out of 10. A movie with great expectations that tanked!

A pulpy mystery thriller with the typical Amal Neerad visual flair, nothing more, nothing less. Excluding the finer details, most of it was predictable but still engaging enough. The cast did well but didn't feel anyone did anything extraordinary. Can't believe Fahadh is doing such an insignificant cop role. The climax could've been choreographed better for more impact. The three-against-one scene could've been utilized better. With Amal Neerad's style, the film's problem is that it's neither grounded nor really stylish enough. A lot of the twists and turns ended up very flat. The flashback portions didn't feel really convincing. I expected a bit more than that, so I ended up feeling underwhelming. Still, the whole thing is stylish and atmospheric enough to be an okay watch.