paragshrijoshi

The setup right from the statuary warning is quite brilliant. The entire build up, the beginning promises you a fun yet thrilling ride but it's more in the second half when things go messy. So messy, that you wonder all this is a dream as logic and common sense hangs out of the window for most of its run time. Unfortunately then, the entire left this left that concept seems like a facade in an attempt to do something different. Movies like Mathu Vadalara had the concept of the plot taking place in an apartment quite well here the director goes on a non sensical killing spree.

Kudos the debutants for pulling this off. Such a fresh idea filled with laughter and superb performances. However, the idea had so much potential that it could actually be India's Jumanji but wasted midway. It feels the director lost the plot post the interval and was just dragging it. The three main leads have done a fabulous job with a special mention for the guy who played Jithin. The change in the characters has been played so beautifully that one get totally immersed in their world of madness.

I hope some big names come to help the newbie director and they have a better sequal soon.

Based on the French Novel 'A bird in the Cage', Merry Christmas shapes more as a Staged drama of early 1900s than a movie. The first half keeps you hooked not with the mystery but the character and world building. Sriram Raghavan seems to have experimented with this one by drifting away from his regular darker way of spinning the mysteries.

One might get disappointed if the expectations would be of a mystery thriller but overall the movie stands out for many reasons. The characters keep drinking wine throughout the movie but it's the performances & chemistry of the lead which tastes the most delicious one.

An open ended climax would have worked much better though.