Memories

Memories directed by Jeethu Joseph is a movie that expands in an impressive manner. The making has too much of typical feel, but the film gets a solid boost in the last quarter of its runtime and that helps memories in a huge way in making its audience applaud. With the central character performing exceedingly well throughout the movie, Memories is definitely a memorable thriller.

The story here revolves around the depressed police officer Sam Alex. In his earlier days he was a smart cop and for hurting the criminal minds Sam lost his wife and daughter. That event shattered him completely and he became an alcoholic. After three years, the police department gets crucified by media for not investigating a notorious serial killing properly. The DGP who was confident about Sam’s ability asks him to investigate the case so that he may get a chance to restart his police life. After many persuasions Sam Alex agrees to investigate the case in a parallel track. How he does this and how it influences him personally are what Memories basically about.

As I said, the movie kicks off in a slow tempo and picks up the speed gradually. Enough time is taken for setting up the deeds of the antagonist and also the personal trauma of Sam Alex. The thriller factor comes to visibility soon after the entry of Sam Alex into the investigation. Post interval the movie becomes more engaging and till the last point the movie keeps us guessing how he is going to finish things.

In the making, the direction wasn’t that great in those earlier portions of the film, but Jeethu Joseph was able to convey the suspense sequences smartly. The main drawback of the film is the dialogs which were too dramatic or I should rather say cinematic. Only experienced actors were able to render those dialogs properly without much dramatic feel. The script is really good. It never decelerates and the way Jeethu Joseph complicated things for Sam Alex till the last moment, made the movie worth watching. Cinematography is impressive. Background score at times was excessive. The music is good from Sejo John. The usage of computer graphics was too much and the lack of quality irritates.

The actor in Prithviraj is really evolving and this one was indeed a brilliant performance. Whether it’s the happy family man that appears in the memories or the dull Sam Alex who hates God for taking away his loved ones, the actor pulls it off superbly. Meghna Raj doesn’t have much to do and Mia’s role isn’t relevant. The rest of the cast including Vijayaraghavan,  Rahul Madhav, Sreejith Ravi, Suresh Krishna and others did well in their roles. A special mention for S.P Sreekumar for his performance as Peter.

Overall, Memories is an exciting film that has forgivable flaws. It is undoubtedly Jeethu Joseph’s best till date. My rating is 3.5/5 for this suspense thriller. The last half an hour really shifts the movie to the top gear.