Dhuruvangal Pathinaaru by Karthick Narain is an unusual Tamil film. One of the early scenes has a pan shot from the hills to a bungalow at a languid pace. This is a stark contrast to the films that Hari churns out with the pans, jarring cuts accompanied by a whoosh. Tamil cinema has found settings from Chennai to Madurai, but a thriller set in a hill station has been long overdue. Amir’s Raam which also had Rahman was made more than a decade ago. Much like the setting, it rare to see a young Tamil director who strongly believes in showing rather than telling, and keeps at it for the most part. In the early portions, Karthick shows adeptness at his craft. He manages to carve out a pivot when a victim’s identity matches with the blood samples at the crime scene. The direction is interesting and unusual. Yet it does not compensate for the ordinary writing.
Interesting, because Karthick is eager to try out several techniques. A conversation broken into several shots is shot once from behind the shoulder, once within the space of the conversation and again with a different variation. He prefers a steady camera for conversational scenes, and employs handheld to shoot the action scenes. The best scene is when Delhi Ganesh is revealed about his son’s fate. You hear the numbness of the shock, but you are shown the shakiness of the after effect. There is also a strong preference for long takes. Experienced directors and actors screw up oners [1]. Karthick demonstrates an understanding of why they work well; he keeps his character on their feet and gives them something to do [2]. The scene outside Shruti’s apartment with the neighbour and his wife work well largely because it is in a single shot. He manages to even infuse comedy into that scene. But sometimes these shots appear forced. Even in the above mentioned scene Rahman is moved around without a lot of purpose. One of the first scenes at the police station also has a single shot that has a constable appearing way too busy (the movement is composed the character cutting several imaginary corners and he has something to say to somebody at every corner) just to keep the shot interesting.
Unusual, because in several scenes action seems to happen not at the center of the frame, but at the periphery. It is an unusual choice. It works well in the opening sequence. It was surprising to see where the gun was pointed at. Even the altercation with the traffic police is shot in a way you, so that you can fully see the actor but only paritally see the action. You also get a profile shot of only one party in a conversation, where the other party who is not in frame. May be the director wants to keep you guessing about what’s not in frame. Strangely enough there are at least shots were composed starting from a top angle and moving to a perpendicular position with respect to the characters without a specific purpose.
Rahman exudes a lazy elegance that makes an interesting watch. At times, I wonder if that’s due to sloppiness in writing. The writing manages to work well with some character traits that go well with Rahman’s acting. He patiently coaches a new recruit who thinks of a missing person report as a prank call. There is also a short film crew that has a second unit directing a making video of the short film! Karthick seems to follow an unrestrained approach to direction as well as writing, but the latter does not work out as well. You see scenes that begin way too early and end way too late, which slowly becomes a trend. A conversation with a watchman about the investigation slowly becomes a conversation about the watchman. Ineptness of the policemen goes on like a never ending side show, and bloats the investigation scenes. Rahman has a meatier role in this movie, but I liked his performance in Raam better largely because he was supported by better writing. Here the writing is in broad brush strokes, lacks specificity and hopes to manufacture interest from the lack of clarity. Towards the end you can feel a hangover from short films (though not Karthick Narain’s Oomai Kural which features much better and specific writing).
The direction helps create and maintain a sombre tone with a promise that some thing interesting is around the corner. If only the writing had helped the film turn the corner, I would have joined Baradwaj Rangan in a chorus in calling this a first rate film. But the direction shows sufficient promise to believe that one may be around the corner.
[1] - Kabali talks to his gang in a diner after evicting a dissenting member. There is a long take that is too long for Rajinikanth to sustain the intensity of his performance (look at how feeble "Magzhichi" is). Ranjith does not move any of his characters; the extras stick out like sore thumbs, and drains the scene of any signs of life. A scene that's representative of Baradwaj Rangan's synopsyis - "An unsatisfying clash between the impulses of star and director".
[2] - Mugumoodi’s Kudi Vaazhthu has an interesting prelude that has a good long shot. Every Frame a Painting’s The Spielberg Oner.
Interesting, because Karthick is eager to try out several techniques. A conversation broken into several shots is shot once from behind the shoulder, once within the space of the conversation and again with a different variation. He prefers a steady camera for conversational scenes, and employs handheld to shoot the action scenes. The best scene is when Delhi Ganesh is revealed about his son’s fate. You hear the numbness of the shock, but you are shown the shakiness of the after effect. There is also a strong preference for long takes. Experienced directors and actors screw up oners [1]. Karthick demonstrates an understanding of why they work well; he keeps his character on their feet and gives them something to do [2]. The scene outside Shruti’s apartment with the neighbour and his wife work well largely because it is in a single shot. He manages to even infuse comedy into that scene. But sometimes these shots appear forced. Even in the above mentioned scene Rahman is moved around without a lot of purpose. One of the first scenes at the police station also has a single shot that has a constable appearing way too busy (the movement is composed the character cutting several imaginary corners and he has something to say to somebody at every corner) just to keep the shot interesting.
Unusual, because in several scenes action seems to happen not at the center of the frame, but at the periphery. It is an unusual choice. It works well in the opening sequence. It was surprising to see where the gun was pointed at. Even the altercation with the traffic police is shot in a way you, so that you can fully see the actor but only paritally see the action. You also get a profile shot of only one party in a conversation, where the other party who is not in frame. May be the director wants to keep you guessing about what’s not in frame. Strangely enough there are at least shots were composed starting from a top angle and moving to a perpendicular position with respect to the characters without a specific purpose.
Rahman exudes a lazy elegance that makes an interesting watch. At times, I wonder if that’s due to sloppiness in writing. The writing manages to work well with some character traits that go well with Rahman’s acting. He patiently coaches a new recruit who thinks of a missing person report as a prank call. There is also a short film crew that has a second unit directing a making video of the short film! Karthick seems to follow an unrestrained approach to direction as well as writing, but the latter does not work out as well. You see scenes that begin way too early and end way too late, which slowly becomes a trend. A conversation with a watchman about the investigation slowly becomes a conversation about the watchman. Ineptness of the policemen goes on like a never ending side show, and bloats the investigation scenes. Rahman has a meatier role in this movie, but I liked his performance in Raam better largely because he was supported by better writing. Here the writing is in broad brush strokes, lacks specificity and hopes to manufacture interest from the lack of clarity. Towards the end you can feel a hangover from short films (though not Karthick Narain’s Oomai Kural which features much better and specific writing).
The direction helps create and maintain a sombre tone with a promise that some thing interesting is around the corner. If only the writing had helped the film turn the corner, I would have joined Baradwaj Rangan in a chorus in calling this a first rate film. But the direction shows sufficient promise to believe that one may be around the corner.
[1] - Kabali talks to his gang in a diner after evicting a dissenting member. There is a long take that is too long for Rajinikanth to sustain the intensity of his performance (look at how feeble "Magzhichi" is). Ranjith does not move any of his characters; the extras stick out like sore thumbs, and drains the scene of any signs of life. A scene that's representative of Baradwaj Rangan's synopsyis - "An unsatisfying clash between the impulses of star and director".
[2] - Mugumoodi’s Kudi Vaazhthu has an interesting prelude that has a good long shot. Every Frame a Painting’s The Spielberg Oner.
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