Ranjith Sankar's 'Ramante Edenthottam' would have actually made excellent material for a 20-25 min short film. But the film runs for a good 2 hours to get its point across..'Happiness even in its mildest form, is steadily required for human beings to keep their sanity afloat'.
That said, the film is strictly performance-driven. Ranjith Sankar, as a director, has consistently been successful in extricating neat performances from his ensemble. 'Ramante Edenthottam', unlike its title is less about Raman (Kunchacko Boban) and his garden of Eden, and more about a woman's journey into rejuvenating and reinventing herself. Malini (a home-maker and mother, played by Anu Sithara) is brow- beaten on and off by her significant other Elvis (a film- producer, played by Joju) who is hell-bent on making a successful comeback into the industry after his films started flopping one after the other.
Elvis is an occasional womanizer and often too business-minded to provide the kind of attention that Malini seeks. Malini eventually finds solace in Raman and his foresty estate and looks forward to spending time at the spot every year, post her vivacious first visit. It is a kind of 'perfect getaway' for Malini, who craves a bit of genuine affection from the male gender and wishes her life was a lot better than it looked. Raman brings about a positive change in her, without complicating their relationship at any point, although things ultimately get out of hand owing to Elvis' heavy-handedness.
While the 'reinventing-the-self' part of the film is appreciable, certain other factors bog it down..such as the humor from Pisharady seldom triumphant in raising guffaws, the dead-weight cameo from Aju Varghese and the less impactful climax. The garden of Eden does have its simple yet exotic charm, captured beautifully by Madhu Neelakantan. Music by Bijibal ideally fits the film's milieu (although background score could have been better, especially during the climactic portions).
Verdict: Anu, Joju and the locales make it worth a viewing!
