Helen

" Helen " Malayalam movie.

Widower father and her ambitious daughter-nurse.... their relationship, their daily interactions...all started a simple family drama... unfolding into an unexpected thriller- a survival thriller.

Anna Ben on her second outing as the movie star, has definitely outlived her 'Babymol' shades from 'Kumbalangi nights'. She handled Helen Paul, in a very matured manner. Lal, as her father, Paul supported Helen well and scored very well, in the emotional scenes.

Director with his team of script and screenplay writers, are bold enough to introduce the Mallu audience to a rare thriller. Camera work and art direction is creditable. Makeup' of the heroine during the climax scenes are excellent.

8 on 10 for this 'freezing thriller'.

Even though the story line and some of the scenes had similarly with the Hollywood movie 'Freezer', this presentation gives a distinct, different feeling.

Screenplay drags at places, still the anxious moments keep the audience on the edge of their seats..... Thrilled... Frozen thrilled... Extra frozen thrilled.

The movie is definitely inspired by Andres Bais directed 2011 thriller La Cara Oculta or The Hidden Face.Apart from the basic premise Helen manages to hold on with superlative performances from the lead cast. The movie starts with establishing Helens character, a nursing graduate with aspirations to go abroad, earn and help her father played to perfaction by Anna Ben and Lal.Helen works part time in a restaurant and is seeing a muslim boy.unexpected turn of events brings in ruthless cop Aju Verghese into the frames, which leads to a night of desperate hunt for Helen who goes missing. Power packed performances and fuss free direction from debutant director Mathukkutty Xavier makes the movie a convincing and compelling watch

Helen (given name) made me tear up not because of the survival element - which is a rarity in Malayalam cinema, I should add - but because of standout performances by Lal and Anna Ben who play a father-daughter duo with so much delicacy and warmth it drives the thriller forward without being hammy. It is when Ben's character gets stuck in a cold storage unit one day that things take a turn in the plot as the director uses the event to highlight a series of issues currently plaguing the country: police apathy and their morality lens, caste discrimination, and work stress. It is rather delicious to find these topics scattered as garnishing in a film that is by and large about survival. How Ben manages to enact her challenging role is definitely an attracting element here but what I would like to move your attention to is the range of Lal and how effortlessly he plays the role of a father figure with ultimate finesse it reminded me of my own. Helen has been made well with slight issues in screenplay in the first half and a little bit of convenience storytelling but overall it comes around and will make you feel emotional towards the end. There's no way you'll feel disappointed. TN.

I'm a 70 year old white American with some but limited knowledge of India. What a tear jerker about real people. Some are humble, some are jerks. Must see. And furthermore, who new rats and ants could be supporting actors?

A survival drama with absolutely no exaggeration and perfectly depicted certain elements