Visakesa Chandrasekeram's Munnel has been on my radar for quite some time now. As someone entirely unfamiliar with the director as well as with Sri Lankan cinema as a whole, I felt this a good movie to get myself acquainted. And while what Munnel ends up being is somewhat impressive, it seems riddled with unsquarable technicalities overshadowing the good.
The positives first, as the movie doesn't shy away from taking its time building the movie up with strong historical, emotional and spiritual foundations. The conflict is unmanufactured and ever existent, and looming episodes of hope and hopelessness are expertly woven into the telling of this story by a director whose rich and impressive understanding of the cultures and superstitions he narrates is on full display.
Unfortunately, the gravest offender to make light of all this would be the entire acting unit. From lead actors Sivakumar Lingeswaran and Kamalasiri Mohan Kumar all the way to the extras, the performances all seem hindered, forced and unnatural. Be it the dialogue delivery, be it the reacting to conflict, and be it bringing Chandrasekeram's narration to life, it disappoints and disappoints massively. You couldn't help but feel like there was a teleprompter feeding them lines at all times. While Chandrasekeram's vision is apparent throughout the movie itself, the acting seems a colossal oversight to ruin a good thing.
Of course, I don't doubt that the performances were more than satisfactory to the director who probably knows best what he wants from his cast and what he wants to communicate to his audience, but I feel like this one aspect doesn't really come across as strongly as he'd have wanted for it to, and that costs the movie dearly. Or at least that's the impression I got throughout.
Munnel is still a movie I'd opt a million times over the oversaturated commercial garbage that plagues cinemas everywhere, but being objective and looking at Munnel for what it is lands me exactly where this review might indicate I've landed.
