arungeorge13

Quick thoughts:

1. Patriotism getting the macho packaging is far from my favorite genre, that's for sure. Dhurandhar is very on the nose from a storytelling perspective, and it's 200% INTENDED to make your blood boil. Some of it, like the red-screen with a highly disturbing voiceover, works.

2. The writing is simultaneously smart and predictable, weaving in real incidents with fictional events. There are some really INTERESTING stretches, and then, there are some really UNINTERESTING ones. Soft propaganda and snide remarks on pre-2014 government aside, the film stays focused on its espionage-thriller core.

3. The 2-hour long first half only makes it obvious that Aditya Dhar had more material for a web series than a film. The screenplay is extremely dense, going deep into a Pakistani gang war with details that matter more for the moment than overall. The chapterwise divisions are a clear indication too.

4. With a properly etched character like Rehman Dakait, Akshaye Khanna is the standout performer here by a mile. Ranveer Singh only needs to play the silent infiltrator with a limited emotional range (until the end), so it feels like PART 2 will have him showcasing more of his acting chops. Sanjay Dutt's and Rakesh Bedi's parts feel like a concerted effort to make one section of Pakistanis look dumb and indecisive; there's some spontaneous fun to be had in the process, however. Also, Arjun Rampal might be the bigger (and more menacing) baddie that the film deliberately places less focus on.

5. Sara Arjun (the cute kid from Saivam and Deiva Thirumagal has hmm.. grown up!) looks amazing but has absolutely nothing to add to the plot, except be another addition to the "dumb girlfriend universe." Even her chemistry with Ranveer feels a bit out of place.

6. Shashwat Sachdev's music is really what kept me hooked for 210+ minutes. Except for that item number and a romantic track, the rest of the OST is FANTASTIC! That also applies to the use of (remixed?) retro songs in various scenes.

7. The violence depicted has a slasher-like vibe at specific points, while sticking to the usual action-thriller aesthetic for the most part. Nothing here is particularly stomach-churning (except maybe THAT post-interval scene), but the director seems to have a clear sense of when to shock the viewer. Screw the insertion of CG blood, though.

8. The VFX in general (blood, explosions, etc.) could look better with the amount of money involved (right?). Yet, the staging of the set pieces and solid set designs deftly mask this.

P. S. Vishwaroopam déjà vu, anyone?

Mammootty bounces back with a strong performance (and production venture) after the totally forgettable Bazooka and a strictly mediocre Dominic and the Ladies' Purse. He's playing homme fatale Stalin Das, and the list of women he offs keeps getting bigger and bigger. Vinayakan plays Jayakrishnan (a.k.a Nath), the cop on the hunt for the guy, and the film takes the shape of a typical procedural. But what makes the difference here is not just the casting against type. Of course, Mammootty adds Stalin to his recent slew of terrific performances, and (a deliberately restrained) Vinayakan gets his heroic shine towards the end. Even though the subject matter involves some 20+ murders, it isn't some insanely violent bloodfest.

There's no attempt to objectify the victims, and the direction by Jithin K Jose (who worked on the script for Kurup), while not super stylized, effectively conveys the plot and its developments. At a point, the modus operandi of the killer becomes obvious, so there's a chance several scenes could've felt super repetitive. This is, however, tackled with solid editing work by Praveen Prabhakar, who smoothly intercuts Stanley's interactions with several women and conveys the message without overplay. Mammookka chews up the scenery and the cigarettes.. in short, he's KILLER (pun intended)!

I found Vinayakan's performance to be solid too, unlike a lot of others. Maybe a little more work could've gone into the dialect side of things, but otherwise, he's good. There's an element of mystery to his character that we get to witness in a fascinatingly short outburst towards the end. The ladies don't have a lot of texture except to be floored (literally and figuratively) by Stanley, but the presence of actors like Rajisha and Shruti certainly helps. Mujeeb Majeed is on such a roll, cracking the retro music vibe of the film so damn well.. yeah, we won't be needing copyright infringement claims from Ilaiyaraaja sir since we have Mujeeb ;)

The writing (by Jithin and Jishnu) acknowledges the slowness in the film's pace early on and does not resort to gimmicks to hook you in. The story itself has enough for the discerning viewer to stay interested, with both the killer's and the cop's psyches slowly getting explored. Kalamkaval is a real treat for a crime-drama fanatic like myself, with a largely satisfying climactic showdown. I also think it's a film best enjoyed blindly, without reading too much into its real-life references and inspirations.

It's interesting to see Noah Baumbach tackle the story of an ageing movie star on a journey of self-discovery.. in an era where the exploration of fame and stardom is clearly perceived through a self-absorbed lens. Clooney plays the titular protagonist who's looking back at three and a half decades of his life that he has (predictably) lost to being the "aspirational hero" for audiences around the world. There are snippets of his first (?) audition, an untold love story, moments lost with his kids (that he's trying to catch up on in disorderly fashion), broken and mended friendships.. a lot packed into the 2-hour-something film. Not everything lands, especially when Jay is acting like an indulgent prick, disregarding others' feelings. In these parts, it's more of a "George Clooney greatest hits" show than anything else. Adam Sandler plays Ron, Jay's manager (..and buddy), and when the film revolves around him, it's actually a lot more relatable.

Like with most Baumbach films, this is also a dysfunctional drama filled with immature people. One could call it a character study, but it's definitely got more than one "study" going on. There's Sandler, Dern, and their unfulfilled romance, Riley Keough (as Jessica, Jay's daughter) and the little we see of her, Stacy Keach (as Jay's dad), Billy Crudup (as Jay's old friend Tim), Patrick Wilson, and more big names in tiny roles. Among the smaller roles, I really enjoyed Alba Rohrwacker's presence the most. One of the strongest scenes features Clooney and Crudup, playing childhood "friends" with some unpleasant history, catching up over drinks. Their younger counterparts do fairly well, but the seniors walk away with the trophy.

For the larger part of two hours, it's Jay's and Ron's business relationship (turned friendship) that forms the emotional core. And since it willingly sticks to that element, Jay Kelly feels like a worthwhile watch. The film is shot by Linus Sandgren (La La Land, Saltburn, Babylon, Don't Look Up, No Time to Die, etcetera) and looks astonishingly beautiful when it shifts to the French countryside (on a little side quest). The production design (Mark Tildesley) is solid too, with one too many flashbacks taking us through different eras. Clooney's shirts need a special mention too, and Jacqueline Durran must take credit for it. One can see the efforts of the technical crew very evidently. On the whole, this is a film where not EVERY emotional beat works, and it's not the strongest dialogue-writing from Baumbach & Mortimer, but there's enough dramatic meat to chew on.