Iyobinte Pusthakam (Malayalam, 2014)

A balanced mix of actors and their respective characterizations lifts the screenplay to a great extent. An obedient servant-turned-snobby master Lal, a sensuous scheming daughter-in-law played by Padmapriya, a cheeky yet nasty contemporary in Jayasurya, the hot-headed Ivan played by Jinu-Joseph and a womanizer Dmitri by Vinod Jose – each character has been etched to go with certain humane traits and the actors have brought out their best to the table. In spite of all these swanky actors doing their parts exceptionally well, Aloshy’s grim brooding character played by Fahadh shines through.

The supporting characters like Aloshy’s friend Chemban played by Vinayakan, the inspector enacted by John Vijay , Martha – Aloshy’s sweetheart played by Isha Sharwani & communist leader TG Ravi (Sreejith Ravi), are given short screen time but they act as anchors for important twists and turns.

The cinematography by Amal Neerad proves that if you set your heart to doing something the uniquely, the result can be phenomenal. Such precision and framing accompanied by some wonderful lighting (both natural & artificial) leave the audience with an excitement matched only by having comfort food in a luxurious eatery!

The story transcending generations is very long and the screenplay is honestly slow to medium paced until the last chapter and climax. However, instead of acting to the disadvantage, it tastes so well like ageing wine. Kudos to Gopan Chidambaram for staying honest to his craft. He takes his time to establish the time, characters, the locations & lives of the people involved. Thus, it leaves very less to the imagination of viewers and makes it hard to misunderstand something.

The music is fresh & constant yet remains inconspicuous, never ever dominating the splendid visuals & acting on show. The sound design also elevates this masterpiece without shadowing it.

Accepting the fact that this movie has made heads turn, it is still a little difficult to digest the amount of violence and morale affecting content that has been showcased. Killing a young girl in teenage, trying to man-handle a women & killing a sibling, cheating your master’s wife out of her rightful share are all but few examples. Though in the end, the good prevails over the evil, is the struggle really worth it?