Isaac Newton s/o Philipose Malayalam Movie
Isaac Newton Son of Philipose, would very much remain a disappointment irrespective of the fact that your expectations are as rock-bottom as they possibly could be. I believe that it has aspirations to be known as a comedy, but from what I got to see it would be real hard to list out at least a couple of moments when it truly had me in splits.
Philipose (Nedumudi Venu) has been a successful single parent in that his son Isaac Newton (Lal) has grown up to be a big man, who is quite popular at Kottoor, where they live. However, the father's dreams of making his son an engineer have not worked out quite well because of a major hindrance that they haven't been able to wade across. Newton has dialed miserably to pass the tenth standard examinations, despite persistently trying for eighteen times.
This forms the premise of the film that is a scaled down adaptation of many Sathyan Anthikkad films that we have already seen which have a father - son duo who have none but themselves in life. The characterization is nothing different, and the backdrop is firmly set by adding up the local church festival, the priest, the tea and toddy shops and last but certainly not the least, a lady love for Newton (Abhinaya).
The film starts off Newton's endeavors to pass the exam, where he walks into the hall armed with paper scraps all over his body. He isn't thrown out, since the supervisor is threatened by his hoodlum pals (Tini Tom and Dhananjayan) standing guard outside.
There isn't a scene in the film that cannot be spotted a mile off, and the writing is utterly run of the mill. While film makers are busy experimenting with hundreds of possibly fresh themes, this is a film that takes us on a retro journey and lands us at a cluttered junction, where our cinema had been stuck for a long while.
There are moments when you dearly wish that the film changes its tracks a bit and that it tries to come up with something that would make you want to push up your chin and look at the screen again with anticipation. But nothing of the sort happens. It meanders along the roads that have been laid out way back and finally screeches to a halt at a destination that is as familiar to you as your own toes.
I couldn't find anything spectacular when it came to the performances from the lead actors, be it Lal or Nedumudi Venu. Abhinaya, who is around in a trivial role, does whatever her role has on offer. Tini Tom and Dhananjay as Newton's buddies are loud and at times insufferable.
Technically the film maintains bare minimum standards, with no exceptionalities in view. The music is jarring and the choreography grating. And if I were the editor, I would have had quite a tough time indeed, busy chopping and cutting away as if there were no tomorrow.
The worn out script turns out to be the worm in Newton's apple. Weak humor and shaky plotting see to it that it drops right on Newton's head, knocking him out as well as those unfortunate ones among us who have gathered around to watch him in action.
MOVIE REVIEWS