Appan Movie Review

The movie Appan has been produced in Malayalam. First heard before seen, Itty (Alencier Ley Lopez), and the song he's off-key singing appears to be a taunt.

Plot

Appan follows a moving Christian family through Thoduppuzha's harsh surroundings. Itty and his family comprise his wife Kuttiyamma, son Njoonj, daughter-in-law Rosy, and grandson Abel. The long-term victim of parental violence, Njoonj, makes a career by tapping rubber.

His two greatest aspirations are his mother's peace of mind and his son's development in a better household. Kuttiyamma has tolerated Itty's mistreatment to guarantee her son's financial well-being. While the family waits for Itty's passing to claim their piece of the land, the villagers also plot to kill Itty in vengeance for all the issues he has caused them.

Story

Itty likes to abuse his wife Kutyamma verbally (Pauly Valsan), his son Noonju (Sunny Wayne), and his daughter-in-law Rosy (Ananya), even though he is confined to his bed due to being paralyzed from the waist down. They plead for Itty's death every minute of the day, but he continues to live, cursing and abusing his helpless relatives, not even protecting his grandson Abel (Dhrupad Krishna).

Itty's semi-mobile body, constant screeching voice, and arrogant attitude all reveal a past of male aggression. Itty, who used to be an experienced arrack brewer, won't share his drink or the products' ingredients, as his old companion Varghese (Anil K Sivaram) effectively observes.

It gets more complicated when Sheela (Radhika Radhakrishnan), a sex worker with connections to Itty in the past, arrives up. Kuttyamma sobbed as she informed Noonju, "If I ever get sick, I won't stand on my journey to the graveyard. It gets so bad.

Until Christmas, Christian themes of suffering, temptation, and forgiveness enter a nightmare. Appan mercilessly involves viewers in a family severely wounded by its male leader and is fighting to maintain fundamental human behavior. Noonju is most affected by Itty's jabs because he fears becoming his father in the future.

The early balancing act between frightening harshness and dark humor is uncomfortable. An elderly guy who refuses to die can only be enjoyed for so long by causing harm to his loved ones with his sharp tongue. The talk-heavy screenplay establishes the core problem early on and then drags on longer than necessary to extend the suffering. Upon Sheela's arrival, Appan becomes wealthier. This outsider's presence causes unexpected alterations to the home system.

The moral dilemma Noonju faces in the closing sections, blood may be thicker than water, but what should be done if it has spoiled, is beautifully presented. The strong performances, the entirely appealing characters, and the unwavering depiction of toxic masculinity give the 129-minute movie its foundation. We have seen numerous examples of unhappy families in the past. However, few movies have the guts to name Appan as the problem's primary cause.

Regarding Alencier Ley Lopez's performance, all we can say is that you immediately wish Itty the worst after witnessing him. Radhika Radhakrishnan makes a strong effect as Sheela, who offers everything she has, while Sunny Wayne portrays Noonju with exquisite suffering.

Performance

All of the actors are genuinely captivating throughout the entire film. The movie belongs to Alencier Ley Lopez, who plays an evil and toxic Ittychan. He is very committed to his job.

Sunny Wayne is as close to an excellent character portrayal as possible. He was incredibly moral and emotionally complex. Mainly Ananya is fantastic as Rosy, Noonju's wife. Pauly Valsan does a fantastic job portraying Kuttyamma, Ittychan's wife.

Radhika Radhakrishnan, who is excellent at portraying such a complex character, plays the sex prostitute Sheela. The rest of the cast is also quite good.

Technical Aspects of Direction

The dialogue-heavy writing immediately identifies the central issue before going on for far longer than required to make the audience endure more pain. Appan is remarkably engaging for a film that takes place entirely within and around a house because of the several dramatic moments in which the broken family works together against the father.

Both Indian culture and Indian movies typically disregard the reality of a troubled relationship between parents and their children and the suffering of elder care when forced upon youngsters owing to the influence of society. They are both depicted in the film Appan. We have already been given many illustrations of low households. However, only a few films dare to identify the problem's root cause.

The production by Appan occasionally has the feel of a television drama, which is a drawback. The film's speed slows when a new figure from Itty's past is introduced in the last act, and the sense of humor that had been operating up until that point is lost. The intense music supported the sad words and slightly increased the situation's impact.

Evokes Memories of Irakal and Joji

The screenplay for Appan, which the filmmaker and R Jayakumar co-wrote, begins with similarities with Joji in several ways. In many ways, including the setting, the home, and the main character, the movie is similar to KG George's Irakal and Dileesh Pothan's Joji, but in a reasonable manner. Like earlier movies, the writing is excellent. The black humor is too excellent, and the prose is complex.

Maju Tells a Compelling Tale

Maju demonstrates a competent writer and director, particularly in a few memorable passages, a few characters during Kuttyamma's emotional outburst, and Sheela's exchanges with Ittychan. The presentation and direction of Maju's Appan convey a potent feeling of intensity and gloom. It is a well-paced, thoughtful movie.

Shakespearean tales and KG George movies devotees will enjoy this magnificent supper. Choosing the ideal moment to watch is essential because it's a complex film. The settings were fantastic and dramatic, perfect for the theme. A comfortable pace captures the characters' feelings, giving it an intriguing cinematic approach.

Audiences Opinion

Appan portrays two realities that Indian society and movies typically ignore: the reality of a problematic parent-child connection and the melancholy of elder care when it is imposed upon children due to societal conditioning. Overall, it is a captivating and superbly acted dark comedy-drama that is well worth seeing for the performances.