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'Maranamass' Movie Review: Basil Joseph's Motley Crew Hustles Through A Wobbly Caper Ride
As a tale of two halves, Sivaprasad's film is great fun in the first half but sees a dip in the second; thankfully, the ensemble cast saves the day
Director: Sivaprasad
Writer: Sivaprasad and Siju Sunny
Cast: Basil Joseph, Rajesh Madhavan, Anishma Anilkumar, Suresh Krishna, Siju Sunny, Babu Antony
Language: Malayalam
A serial killer whose modus operandi involves a very specific type of banana, a top cop moping around for his missing pet dog, a bus conductor waiting for the return of his father for 20 years, and a slacker young man known to rile up the public just for kicks — these and a few other character archetypes all seem to belong to a classic, brooding murder-mystery.
For co-writer and director Sivaprasad, though, these stock roles make up only a handful of the quirks that his latest film Maranamass brims with. His is an adventure underscored with chaos, coincidence and confusion all along, and where tongue-in-cheek is pretty much the rule of the game. Every little moment is seen as an opportunity for a joke or a sly reference to pop-culture, and every character endorses that ethos with full commitment to result in a silly, absurd and mindless fun caper.
Set in a fictional town named Vallikkunnu, Maranamass combines the societal fear/twisted obsession with serial killers along with basic human desire. Each character — small or big — carries an innate need that drives the narrative. If the local hellraiser Luke PP (Basil Joseph) longs for a reunion with his ex-girlfriend Jessie (Anishma Anilkumar), then the town’s ageing, affable bus driver Jithin (Suresh Krishna) goes the extra mile to make sure that his long-pending marriage happens just as planned. Both Sivaprasad and his co-writer Siju Sunny (who plays the bus conductor) use convenience to their benefit and dispense one funny contrivance after another to not drop the ball.
Their inventiveness results in many memorable moments that largely stem from the endearing eccentricities of the small town. The main site for the drama is the public bus which is also the chosen protest vehicle of the local political outfit. A comical and menacing serial killer (Rajesh Madhavan), regarded as most-wanted by the cops and people alike, hides in plain sight as a meek school teacher named SK sir (the abbreviation being the most overlooked hint here). A group of conspirators find that the local graveyard can’t be used for a while because a couple is busy shooting their pre-wedding 'Save the Date' video at the same location. A pepper spray becomes a great device of both crime and retribution, just as the banana reveals itself to be an important piece of the puzzle.
Yet, Maranamass doesn’t fully live up to its potential because of its low-risk writing. For a film billed to be a dark comedy, the story rarely pushes itself to make things darker or more uncomfortable, and finds a little too much comfort in the safe spot it had fashioned for itself in the very beginning. Consequently, all the initial mayhem gradually comes to a screeching halt when the characters stop evolving, the jokes become repetitive, and the surprises in the plot suggest laziness on the writers’ part.
As a tale of two halves, Maranamass works impressively in the first half when the energy feels fresh and the long-ish setup delivers consistently. The second half feels quite sluggish and overwrought in comparison when the story moves in circles and all the craftiness seems to rapidly go out of stock.
The film, much like many other comedies in recent times, comes as a hark-back to the Priyadarshan, Siddique-Lal and Sreenivasan oeuvre. But it doesn't fare very well in comparison to the yesteryear classics mainly because of how the characters are etched out —as much as Luke, Jessie, Jithin, Aruvi and others elicit empathy in us, they don't feel well-rounded or relatable in most parts. That is largely the result of the film opting for style over substance; JK's music is overworked because of the cues the film needs and Neeraj Ravi’s cinematography is handy in lending things an upbeat tone. The climax portion comes as a saving grace by dialling up the intensity once again, and helps Maranamass end on a high note.
That said, one is likely to walk out of the theatre having had good fun because Maranamass, at the end of it all, is a romp that has no rules. Sure, the film is about 15 to 20 minutes too long but the monotony in its writing is compensated for by an ensemble cast that shares great synergy. Just leave the critic in you behind, and you are sure to have a good time.