Aarkkariyam (2021) :
Brief Review -
A solemn take on compassion and eternal salvation before eternity. Latest offering from Malayalam Cinema, Aarkkariyam is like a slow poison. It may work on some people strongly but some might find it mild. The main reason behind this is the improper use of leniency. With more virile theories behind the compassion would have worked better for sure. Shirley and Roy in the middle of an impending Covid lock-down and a personal financial crisis, leave their Mumbai home for Shirley's home in Pala where her father Ittyavira stays. Roy soon finds that her home is not what he thought it is. One secret which was hidden deep down by Ittyavira for years is revealed by him to Roy and it makes Roy restless. That's where the actual content begins and sadly it comes too late. The film opens its first card of the main story at the interval point. Can you believe it? Almost after 55-56 minutes we get to know where the film is heading to. The film is powered by incredible performance of the actors. There is a reason to say this. You see, mostly we judge the acting level according to dialogue delivery and expressions but here in this film the actors have more silent scenes than talking ones. It gives them liberty to behave naturally on screen and their presence fulfills the all the requirements of good acting. Biju Menon, Parvathy Thiruvothu and Samharafudeen all three have given fabulous performances. Aarkkariyam is more like an art film, a realistic drama so expectedly the screenplay and cinematography are curved towards the artistic zone. Sanu John Varghese's attempt to leave the audience with an ideal thought of inner burden and mistaken guilt is very much convincing. The only problem with it is, it takes too much time for that and slow pace feels annoying sometimes. Nevertheless, it's an effective sip of a slow poison.
RATING - 7/10*
By - #samthebestest.
