A successful coverup of murder is something that we have seen in movies like Drishyam. The new Prime Reels release Guardian, directed by Prof. Satheesh Paul, has a similar nature where you don’t have any suspense. The concept here had ample scope to be an exciting idea. Still, the absolute absence of craft and the spoon-feeding through dialogues make this movie a dull thriller that wants to capitalize on the mob justice mentality.
Doctor Arun and his wife Sruthi Samuel are our main protagonists. At one point, Sruthi gets a blackmailing phone call from a stranger claiming that he will release some sensitive pieces of information about her past relationship if she doesn’t agree to pay a ransom amount. Doctor Arun steps in to play the protector’s role, and in the process, he commits certain crimes. How he manages to escape from the legal troubles is what we see in Guardian.
In this movie, Miya plays the role of ASP Meera Mohandas, a newly appointed police officer in the special branch. We are given the information that she already had IAS, and she went for IPS after achieving that. The weird thing about this information is that we have Sijoy Varghese’s character SP Nandakumar, who plays the senior officer giving her guidance in the lamest way possible. The way SP Nandakumar explains the investigation tactics to her might make you wonder whether Meera joined the police force straight after completing her Plus Two course. Even in the movie’s main track, which features Doctor Arun, you would find familiar elements and predictable moments.
The lack of craft is what makes this movie incredibly boring. The lighting is absolutely flat. Be it the happy moments at the beginning of the movie or the intense moments in the latter part of the movie; we have this ad film like bright lighting that just doesn’t communicate the emotion on screen. As I already said, the dialogues have this spoon-feeding nature, making the movie look silly on many levels. There is a scene where Meera asks Sruthi to get some water in a plastic bottle to get her fingerprint, and the film is a collection of such unsubtle moments. Prof. Satheesh Paul is just trying to tell a story here, and he doesn’t really care about the nuances of its presentation or the usage of the visual medium.
The only thing that you would find appreciable in this movie is the performance of Saiju Kurup. His portrayal of Doctor Arun covers up a lot of flaws in the movie. There is a sense of charm and heroics associated with this character, and Saiju could carry that up to an extent. Nayana as Sruthi Samuel has only one expression to show in the entire movie, and it is that of a naive perplexed housewife. No offense, but Miya and Sijoy Varghese, as the investigating officers, were as hilarious as ACP Pradhyuman and the gang from CID.
In the hands of a better director, who knows how to use the medium’s visual language, this movie would have at least be engaging. When you don’t have suspense in a thriller, that’s already a tricky situation. But Satheesh Paul fails to tackle those challenges in his idea, making it a thriller that you won’t even remember for long.
In the hands of a better director, who knows how to use the medium's visual language, this movie would have at least be engaging.
Green: Recommended Content
Orange: The In-Between Ones
Red: Not Recommended
