dagalti · @dagalti
18th Jan 2016 from TwitLonger
ThArai Thappattai - Bala
One of the most interesting, if not stunning, characteristic about Bala's films is his economy.
There is almost no fat in the way he goes about writing scenes, getting us into the milieu, making sure we ‘get' equations of those who people the screen and their ‘motivations’ (boy, I cringe at the unidimensionality that that word exudes) . And all this is done with seemingly no effort to ‘establish characters’. Hardly over-verbalized, reaction-shots used very sparingly and to great effect (anxious Laila in iLangAthu - to name an obvious one).
Here you have people verbalising their problems, situations. Again and again. (sic) ayyayO naan ippadi paNNittEnE - really??
People explaining their/others’ feelings/state of affairs, conveniently dramatic occurrences - death included. And the most disappointing of all - reaction shots galore - is this really Bala? The total amount of footage of karagAtta audience joining in the fun - is to be seen to be believed.
To be clear? "Is this really Bala?" is not a question to be asked about choice of subject/tone - as was asked quite thoughtlessly wrt Avan Ivan. Even those who were taken by surprise there, could see he had his 'grip'. Something seems to have slipped here.
Violence is hardly annoying in Bala’s film. It is enjoyable in the sense that, it manages to create an impact on an audience inured to it by years of aestheticization. It is very much an achievement, I would say.
But, what is apposite in, say, Siththan’s fight in the prisons, Rasa’s leg-bone being cut was annoying in Walter bashing up that manna-droppeth-from-heaven villain RK.
And here it is beyond pale. One cannot but conclude he had no idea what to do but to fall back on violence to cover up.
What is disappointing is how everyone outside the universe of the dancers are caricatures - not just the villain. The Andaman thiruvizha group, Australians/discovery channel, the defecting brother-sister and who not. Simply used for effect and lacking personality. It is not that such ineptness from Bala has been without precedent. But hardly has it been so central to the plot events of the film, that the callousness, if not incompetence, been impossible to pass-over.
And one should pre-emptively dismiss any defences of Thandavan being as ruthless and unscrupulous a villain as Karuppiah here. Thandavan was coldly logical and needed to be equally unsympathetic for that lockdown with Rudran to be what it was.
Here it is just plain bizarre!
Let us not bother asking a ‘why does he do what he does’ kind of questions. His very last moment shows him to be beyond the realm of such questions.
The better question would be why care one way or the other?
And it does not help that Bala can’t rein in the funnies even when he is supposedly building up the ‘badassery’ of the villain. That works only when one really manages to have established all that. Else it comes across as half-baked, as it very well did.
Of course Bala’s humour is uniquely his. Many moments/lines worked here too, but here is what is new: many didn’t. Largely because they seemed misplaced in the 'tone' of the scene they were situated in. Has that ever happened in a Bala film earlier?
Varalaxmi was the one impressive thing in the film. Sasikumar ruined many an important scene. GMK, as expected, dropped the ball on Idarinum - which was anyway overkill for the situation, if not the movie.
ரொம்ப கடுப்பாயிட்டேனோ...
As far as the score goes - it is beyond common knowledge that it is The finest album in a while. But IMO, apart from the intro theme everything else has been largely grassed. Yes, including vadhana vadhana - I mean, veLLakkAra audience dancing in the aisles umpteen times, for God sake!
Idarinum and pAruruvAya - I see what you were trying to do there, but hardly managed to.
The BGM when the construction site crashes (what was that whole sequence anyway!) - was quasi-humorous to me. Seemed incongruous Let’s see if anyone else feels so.
And the ‘reveal’ in the interval bloc and ominous music - that to me was perhaps what was symptomatic of the problems of the film. We were supposed to ‘feel’ the way the music urges us to. But the moment is, by itself quite weak and laborious attempts were made to make it look good: slow-mo, lighting and camera angle and what not.
The rest of film seemed largely that: trying to push a reluctant plot to emotional acmes. The fight, set to some riveting music, came across as a tiresome grasp at straws.
நெஸ்ட் meet பண்ணுவோம்.