What Is the Story About?
Vinu and his mother Asha delve deeper into depression after a family member passes away. After a few days, Vinu starts to see some unexplained supernatural events. As this continues on for a few days, he and his mother start to question his sanity. Is Vinu actually seeing something supernatural? Or is his depression coming to haunt him in other ways? Or is it something else?
Performances?
Bhoothakaalam focuses on two characters – a young man, Vinu and his mother, Asha. They are portrayed by the two actors, Shane Nigam and Revathi. Both Vinu and Asha are affected by clinical depression which Shane and Revathi portray brilliantly. While the well-written dialogue does a lot of the work for them, both of the actors give us a very reserved, nuanced performance, so whenever they actually make a change in their behavior, it is quite noticeable. Bhoothakaalam is slow, but the film is made better because of their onscreen presence.
Analysis
Bhoothakaalam is a baffling film altogether. The movie first chooses to focus on the lives of Vinu and Asha and their day-to-day activities. After Asha’s mother passes away, Asha sinks further into depression and Vinu continues aimlessly, unable to secure a job for himself. With his friends and former peers moving up in the world and him being stuck at home with his mother, Vinu turns to alcohol, tobacco and weed. He starts to lose sleep and the sleep-deprivation makes him unstable and causes him to see and hear hallucinations. He starts to think that his grandmother has come back to haunt him. Asha, on the other hand, understands that she is depressed and starts to talk to a doctor, who prescribes her antidepressants. But her real issue is that upon her mother’s passing, she doesn’t have anyone she can talk to. She tries to get Vinu to open up, but Vinu does not. A counselor comes to talk to Vinu about his depression, but due to social reasons and the counselor’s blasé reaction, Vinu kicks him out of his house.
Till here, we get a pretty realistic look into the lives of the mother and son. Both Vinu and Asha are affected by clinical depression for various reasons, and we are shown how they are both affected by it. All of this is depicted well, through good music, direction and especially through the actors – however, the film starts to lose the plot, beyond this point. The second half of the film starts to focus on George, the counselor who came to meet Vinu. Since he doesn’t get a straight answer out of Vinu, he decides to investigate his condition a bit more. However, he finds out that the house Vinu and Asha has been staying used to belong to a family who committed suicide. Since then, the house has never had any living occupants for more than a few months. This side story adds a little dynamism to the plot and George’s reaction to it is also interesting and reasonable. While this could mean that the house gives off “bad vibes”, we still believe that Vinu and Asha’s depression is the root cause of their problems.
However, the plot twist during the final act changes all that. Vinu and Asha discover that the house is actually haunted. We did not see that coming. And it is an entertaining and smart twist, to keep the audiences interested, especially after the near-90-minute-snoozefest we are subjected to prior to this “twist scene”. Don’t get us wrong, the film is not bad, but it is ridiculously slow. After 10 minutes of jump scares, ominous music and unexplained supernatural phenomenon, the mother-son duo manage to escape the house. A little later, Vinu and Asha return to the house with a few people to shift to another home. A few minutes later, the film ends. This inconclusive ending is the confusing bit.
The film is supposed to focus on Vinu and Asha’s depression – which it does. Their problems with each other, with Vinu unable to find a job, Vinu’s drinking problems, Asha’s work problems, Asha’s lack of a companion are all contributing factors to their depression. While before the final plot twist, both mother and son finally reconcile with each other briefly – the fact remains that they are both depressed. They have taken the first step into accepting each other back into their lives, but they still need to work a few things out. The supernatural plot twist is fun, but ultimately undermines the core plot of Bhoothakaalam.
Vinu’s addiction problems, his girlfriend problems and his job problems all contribute to his depression. Asha’s lack of a real friend, her son wasting his time and her problems at her job are contributing to her depression. While their stories are told slowly, it is well established on screen. The unfortunate sub plot of the suicide undermines all of the core setup and this gives the film an incomplete feeling. On top of all that, the supernatural subplot actually amounts to nothing. We still do not know if both Vinu and Asha hallucinated the same thing together or if they were actually haunted by the previous owners of the home. And we still do not know what actually happened with said family – and why the wife drove the husband to madness.
The film also wastes Saiju Kurup’s small role. The actor plays the role of a semi-competent counselor who loses his nerve when he finds out about the history of Vinu’s house. While Saiju plays the role well, he doesn’t have much to do onscreen.
Overall, Bhoothakaalam is a confusing film. The story is about depression and how different people manifest it, but this core plot gets undermined by some supernatural elements. If you like slow paced films and have the patience for it, then check it out. The extremely slow pace of the film makes the movie hard to watch.
Other Artists?
Saiju Kurup, Athira Patel and James Eliya are the other actors who make an onscreen appearance. The latter two have minor roles and they play them well, however, Saiju Kurup is the standout among them – primarily because of screentime. While the actor does a good job in portraying the counselor George, he really doesn’t have much to do onscreen.
Music and Other Departments?
The music and editing in Bhoothakaalam is pretty good, especially the jump scares a bit but the director had much left to be desired. While the overall effort is good, the director could have amped up the pace of the film. The main story and the side plot of the film is great, but the overall screenplay needs more work.
Highlights?
Realistic Depictions of Addiction
Acting
Plot Twist
Drawbacks?
Extremely Slow Paced
Main Story Gets Sidetracked By Sub-Plot
Unsatisfying Ending
Did I Enjoy It?
It is okay
Will You Recommend It?
If you like slow paced thrillers, this is your film. Otherwise skip
Bhoothakaalam Movie Review by Binged Bureau
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