David and Goliath

The general accusation of being immoral in his writings might have prompted actor- script writer Anoop Menon to reunite with Mr Rajeev Nath and make the movie David and Goliath. It is a less entertaining and bit enlightening story that has the fragrance of goodness throughout. But the problem for D and G is that it tries to narrate about something that is huge and the lesser complexities in the plot reduces the size of the canvas and people won’t get the required impact.

The story is about David, who is an orphan and he is brought up by a priest. David has brilliant practical knowledge in science and machines are his favorite toys. He makes his own version of water heater for his guardian, he uses kitchen accessories and parts of cycle to manufacture a particular type of generator, he makes his own weapon to take down the guy who irritated his love. When his guardian passes away David is forced to leave the church. A young entrepreneur Sunny who failed to build up an electrical based business accidentally comes to know about one of David’s inventions and he takes David along with him to make a productive bigger version of the discovery.  As the product gets some whopping offers Sunny’s ego, selfishness and inferior complex makes things complicated. The events up to this and after this; how the complications are solved with the help of innocent selfless attitudes is basically the movie all about.

The first half of the movie largely concentrates on familiarizing David to the audience. The usual charm that Anoop Menon manages to generate through the natural dialogs is missing here. The discoveries of David also lack the required excitement. Film gets into an engaging mood in the beginning of the second half were the association of the title protagonists begins. The events leading to the conflicts required a bigger canvas. As a viewer you won’t feel the greed of Sunny as the 300 Crores was narrated as a normal amount. With a much more sensible complications and a deeper bonding between David and Sunny the movie would have made its actual target.

On screen Jayasurya impresses again as the innocent and humble David. Loved his performance in the press conference scene. Anoop Menon again scores with his smooth dialog rendering. The natural innocence in his performance makes him eligible to play the Goliath version which cannot be seen as complete antagonist.  Usual members whom we see in an Anoop Menon movie such as P Balachandran, Nandu are there. Anumol gets a memorable role as Sunny’s wife who questions the attitude of her husband. Her onscreen chemistry with Anoop Menon is a pleasing one. Lena gets a different makeover while debutant Soumya gets a role that doesn’t have much relevance.

Rajeev Nath’s making style is quite satisfactory. A bit more engaging treatment in the first half could have made the movie more interesting. The script is a bit dull in the first half and it manages to pickup in the second half with the arrival of Sunny. The breezy climax is indeed a minus point. Jith Damodar’s cinematography is nice and he has captured the beauty of Vagamon nicely. The different color tones on each scene are a bit disturbing. Music is pleasing but the BGM was too intense.

Overall, David and Goliath is an average cinema powered by some feel good atmosphere around it. Acknowledging some performances and overall goodness in the content I am giving a 3/5 for this one. It’s a film that lacks impact.

By Aswin Bharadwaj

Founder and editor of Lensmen Reviews.

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