What Is the Story About?
Oliver Twist, a humble patriarch lives with his ailing father, wife and his youngest son. His oldest son, Antony, a film director with one successful film under his belt, is living away from the family for his work. Oliver is a technologically challenged man, while his sons are tech-savvy. When Antony hits a writer’s block while writing his latest film’s climax – he decides to head home to clear his mind, which is where he wrote his first film. He is given 7 days to complete the film before the project is taken away from him. Will he be able to complete his story in time? Or will he lose this project?
Performances?
Although Indrans is the lead actor in #Home, the film focuses on all four active family members whose roles are portrayed by the previously mentioned Indrans, Manju Pillai, Sreenath Bhasi and Naslen K Gafoor. And all four are uniquely brilliant in their roles. Indrans plays Oliver Twist, a clueless father, a humble man who doesn’t know anything technology-related or outside his small town. Manju Pillai plays Oliver’s wife, Kuttiyamma, and she is a refreshing addition to this brilliant cast. Sreenath Bhasi plays the older, moody son to perfection while Nalsen’s antics as a fledgling YouTuber as well as the youngest son, is fun to watch. #Home has roles that require a lot of nuance from these four actors, and they deliver to the small screen in abundance. The dynamics between all four characters is one of the best features of the film.
Analysis
Like most, recent, Malayalam feel-good family movies, #Home starts off like it should – a decent friendly setting, a unique protagonist, a social issue becomes an unlikely adversity, protagonist works on himself to overcome said adversity, protagonist gets a “unique setting” to face this social adversity (usually gifted by the plot), protagonist triumphs, cue music and roll credits. And this is usually what happens during a one-time watch film. But somehow, #Home has crossed that threshold of a one-time watch.
And in many ways, #Home follows the aforementioned “feel good movie set-up”. The extraordinary journey of Oliver Twist starts out in a similar fashion – an older man who feels like he is incapable of learning how to use his smartphone, as he is not tech-savvy. He creates an unfortunate incident that makes him hate his phone, and he slowly starts to lose his sleep. He gets help from a psychiatrist and learns to properly use his phone. He learns about phone addiction and learns to use his phone responsibly. And that’s it. Not so extraordinary is it?
And that’s the thing; Oliver Twist isn’t the only one who goes through a “protagonist journey” in #Home – all four main family members do. And they all go through this journey together so seamlessly that many will not notice it until the very end of the movie. Of course, Antony Oliver Twist gets the biggest character development in the entire movie – even though he is not the film lead. He has to battle anxiety, depression and mobile phone addiction which eventually burst out as anger towards the end of the movie. The youngest, Charles Oliver Twist, gets his comeuppance and his mother, Kuttiyamma, finally has her say – though not in the setting she wants to say it. And while the journey is not without its hiccups which include plot issues and preachiness, #Home manages to be unique in its message.
Similar to a lot of movies that have been releasing lately, #Home decides to tackle social issues as well. According to the film’s trailer and synopsis, #Home is supposed to talk about the importance of spending time with your loved ones and staying connected with them, rather than to your phones. However, the movie decides to take that one step further by tackling depression, anxiety and other issues that come from smartphone addiction. The movie also tries to get rid of the stigma around psychologists. Again, there is a lot of cringe and preachiness (mainly the latter) when the film tackles these issues, but the movie manages to make it work better than most.
Some parts of the movie however are slightly unbelievable though. A son being way too careless about his words around his father, especially for a son who loves his family, doesn’t make much sense in this setting. Also, Oliver learns how to fully use his smartphone in a matter of days – while it is not impossible, it is still highly improbable. And the final story scene, while beautiful, is way too convenient a plot point to have. It felt too similar to the final sequence from the movie ‘Katha Parayumpol’ (remade in Hindi as ‘Billu Barber’). There are many small sequences in the movie similar to this, as well as some overly preachy scenes (Notice that we mention the “P” word every chance we get).
The movie does have some good parts as well. While the movie is mostly a family drama, there are a few scenes that pop out of nowhere and make you laugh. Many forget that Indrans is a comedy genius and he gets to express that genius in this film in unique and subtle ways. A special mention to the car washing sequence in the movie when Charles walks up to his dad to wash his scooter – had us on the floor laughing; it came out of nowhere. That film writer and director, Rojin Thomas, deserves credit for that particular shot.
Overall, #Home is a film that had a good message, but half of it gets lost in the movie. However, the brilliant cast works well together to make the story and script work. The movie needs to work on its preachiness, however.
Other Artists?
Vijay Babu portrays the psychologist, Dr. Franklin and Johny Antony portrays Oliver’s best friend, Suryan in #Home. Both characters are supposed to be two very important portrayals in the movie – the latter is like your 100 messages-sharing uncle, who sees disaster in every page, while the former is a person working on the betterment of the self. Naturally the second person ends up giving a preachy speech to the former and all is well in the world. Still, both actors do a good job in their portrayals and they manage to make us laugh in a couple of scenes. Deepa Thomas’s portrayal of Antony’s girlfriend, Priya, is also memorable and funny in some scenes.
Music and Other Departments?
While the music by Rahul Subramanian is decent, the cinematography by Neil D’Cuncha is a standout in this film. And while Rojin Thomas needs to work on some portions of the script, the premise of his story is unique. He manages to write #Home with a complex, yet enticing structure and his direction has made the movie as good as it can be (along with the actors).
Highlights?
Acting performances
Unexpected Funny Sequences
Relatable Situations Story
Drawbacks?
The Film Slows Down In Between
Film Gets Preachy
Convenient Plot Points
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes.
Will You Recommend It?
Yes.
#Home Review by Binged Bureau
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