3 Dots Malayalam Movie
'3 Dots' is a royal disappointment on account of reasons more than one, the lack of a plausible and inventive story being the most noteworthy of them. It's a comedy that is not especially funny and the drama that follows is not especially dramatic either.
Here is what happens in '3 Dots' in a nutshell. Vishnu (Kunchacko Boban), Pappan (Prathap Pothen) and Louis (Biju Menon) are three ex-convicts who live together at Pappan's abode, trying to pick up from where they had let their lives off before being jailed. The prison counselor Dr. Isaac (Narein), offers them all support, and the trio is hence shocked to realize that the doctor himself is terribly dejected with a custodian battle for his son, with his estranged wife.
Convicts moving out of prisons, and being denied opportunities for a decent living has all been dealt with in several films before, and hence the makers decide to mash it up a bit further by throwing in a bit of mystery into the picture. We have a young kid being kidnapped hence, and some thriller moments making their way in.
It's another matter altogether that these supposedly awe-inspiring moments very rarely thrill, and that you end up patiently waiting for the almost three hour (2 hours and forty minutes, if I remember right) long film to draw to a close, hoping that the 'Ordinary' team treats you with something better the next time around.
There aren't many interesting ideas in '3 Dots' that get you all perked up, and hence the film depends solely on the one-liners that it shoves into the mouths of its leading men, to keep you engaged and entertained. There is the romance bit that works partially, and by partially I mean, of the two romantic tracks one seems to have some verve while the other loses steam in no time. Surprisingly its Louis and Grace (Anjana Menon) who seem to pull it off, while the love that strikes between Vishnu and Lakshmi barely impresses beyond the compatibility in their names.
There are plenty of songs as well that appear to have been wedged forcefully into the proceedings, and when yet another song makes it appearance almost three fourth into the film, you end up totally wound up. Why is it that these songs cannot be done away with, especially when they serve no point whatsoever in propelling the story forward?
Several films flash across your mind as you watch '3 Dots', as precise situations in it remind you of them, one after the other. There are also instances of sequences that appear to be direct imitations of similar, better executed scenes, like the one in which Louis tries to teach a vexed student (Dhananjayan) the basics of driving.
Of the three male leads, no prizes for guessing that Biju Menon walks away not with just the cake, but the entire bakery itself. Kunchacko Boban and Prathap Pothen appear meek in comparison, while of the lady leads Anjana Menon does a decent job of playing the single mother, while Janani Iyer leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to her performance.
With '3 Dots', Sugeeth moves several notches down from his directorial debut 'Ordinary', and cooks up what seems like a hastily shaped film that looks botched beyond repair. A few nontoxic gags are what it puts on offer, and beyond the laughter it leaves your thoughts wholly unstirred.
MOVIE REVIEWS