Rebecca (1940)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Screenplay: Robert Sherwood, Joan Harrison (based on the novel by Daphne du Maurier)

Cast: Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine

Music: Franz Waxman

Time: 130 minutes

Bottom-line: Not as thrilling as expected, but a beautiful and faithful adaptation of the book

Hitchcock’s first American film – and his only film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture – Rebecca is based on Daphne du Maurier’s classic novel of the same name. Starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine in the lead roles, with Judith Anderson and George Sanders in the supporting roles, the film is one of Hitchcock’s most acclaimed films, also being nominated for 11 Oscars (winning two).

Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderley again.

Monte Carlo: An unnamed, simplistic, naïve woman (Fontaine) is charmed by the wealthy aristocratic widower, Maximillian “Maxim” de Winter (Olivier). As they spend time together, he proposes to her, and soon they are married. The woman – henceforth referred to only as “the second Mrs. de Winter” – moves in along with Maxim to his enormous country mansion, “Manderley”. While Mrs. de Winter is awed by the opulent lifestyle, she is also unnerved by the spooky atmosphere in the house: everything around her seems to indirectly or directly point to Maxim’s dead wife: Rebecca. The housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers (Anderson) also constantly talks about Rebecca’s beauty, intelligence and even preserves her room as a shrine. As events progress, Maxim’s new wife becomes more and more intimidated by Rebecca’s “presence”, and one day, she discovers a shocking truth about the past, that changes everything.

 

Olivier as Maxim, and Fontaine as the
second Mrs. de Winter

The film is a faithful adaptation of the novel that came in 1938: everything from the famous opening line to the burning mansion in the climax. Like most of Hitchcock’s early films, it takes a while for us to get to the crux of the plot. A lot of time is given to developing the characters, and emphasising the romance between Maxim and his new wife. The main feature of the film is the atmosphere in and around Manderley: the mind-boggling expanse of the mansion, the people in it, the sinister-looking hut by the shore, and of course, the way in which Rebecca is “represented” through anything and everything in the house.

Mrs. Danvers is considered the antagonist of the story. From the start, her tacit hatred towards Maxim’s new wife is imminent, bit by bit strengthening the presence of Rebecca in the mansion, and it all comes out when she diabolically convinces Mrs. de Winter to commit suicide. Judith Anderson in this role is brilliant. Joan Fontaine’s performance is highly commendable, especially the way her character is first subdued and cowed by the exorbitance and influence of de Winter and Rebecca, and later when she asserts her power.

 

Fontaine as Maxim's wife, and Anderson as
Mrs. Danvers (one of the most famous
scenes in the film)

The sets and costumes are not usually a noticeable feature in Hitchcock films, but in Rebecca, they are certainly prominent. The plot twists appear at the right moments, but I wasn’t completely satisfied when the true plan of Rebecca is revealed. The last scene (not present in the original story) that shows the embroidered “R” being burnt to flames – as a symbol that the influence of Rebecca will no longer trouble the married couple – was a nice touch. So, while Rebecca isn’t exactly a thriller, as expected from Hitchcock, the film is certainly worth watching for any Hitchcock fan and an admirer of the novel.

My Rating: 3.5/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 100%

Mudhalvan (1999)

English translation: The Chief Minister

Director: S. Shankar

Story: S. Shankar, Sujatha

Cast: Arjun Sarja, Manisha Koirala, Manivannan, Raghuvaran

Music: A.R. Rahman

Time: 171 minutes

Bottom-line: A highly inspirational political drama

One of Shankar’s most influential films, and my second favourite (after Anniyan), Mudhalvan shows us a glimpse of a leader we all need. Starring Arjun Sarja, Manisha Koirala and Raghuvaran in the lead roles, with Manivannan, Cochin Haneefa and Vadivel in the supporting cast, the film is one of the best political dramas that the Tamil film industry has produced.

Pugazhendi aka Pugazh (Arjun) is a cameraman working for QTV. One day, violence and riots erupt all over the city following a communal clash. As Pugazh captures these events on camera, he also hears the Chief Minister’s message to the police asking them not to involve in controlling the public or he would lose his supporters. Impressed by Pugazh’s heroics of carrying a dying man to the hospital, he is promoted to the on-air talent. His first task in his new position is to interview the CM himself: Aranganathan (Raghuvaran). In an unexpected turn of events, the interview exposes the corruption of the CM, and in his anger, he challenges Pugazh to take up the post of the CM for one day, just to know how difficult it is. Pugazh accepts, and much to Aranganathan’s woes, wins the admiration of the entire state in his one-day duty. Following this, the public wants Pugazh to contest in the next election formally. How Aranganathan and other corrupt parties obstruct his path, and whether or not Pugazh succeeds is what the film is about.

 

Raghuvaran as Aranganathan (left) and
Arjun as Pugazh (the interview) 

The best part of the film is the fact that the deviations from the main plot are kept to a minimum. The comedy track blends in perfectly, and only the romance part deviates the main track, but only to a minimum extent. To get a feel for the film, watch only the interview between Pugazh and the CM – that’s enough motivation to watch the rest of the movie. I can watch the interview followed by Pugazh’s one-day rule n number of times on a loop (except that one nonsensical fistfight). The climax is also smartly written, and is totally unexpected.

Of course, while the “one-day CM” is not a scenario that is likely to take place with the current state of politics in Tamil Nadu, watching the film does inspire you to “be the change you want to see”. It shows how it is very much possible to clean the cesspit that is politics, but we just don’t want to, because invariably, somewhere down the path of becoming a leader, we become corrupt. As Pugazh says, “In one day, I didn’t pull off anything extraordinary; I only did the duties of a CM, which if the CM had done right in the first place, the state would have been so much better off”.

 

Koirala as Thenmozhi

This is also probably Arjun’s best film; from being the cheeky reporter, to a romantic, to a CM, he executes his role to perfection. Manivannan and Raghuvaran have pulled off brilliant performances, the former being Pugazh’s right-hand man, and turning out to be the inspiration for Pugazh (and the viewers) to enter politics, and the latter playing the main antagonist. Manivannan, Haneefa and Vadivel also chip in with comic relief now and then. I blame Mani Ratnam for being responsible for making Koirala enter the film industry. Her performances in Indian and now Mudhalvan, where she plays a village girl and Pugazh’s love interest, are both horrible (What’s with giving the actress a name, Thenmozhi, which even she can’t pronounce!).  

Mudhalvan, barring the few needless fistfights and a bad lead actress, is one hell of a ride – entertaining and influential at the same time. A must-watch!

My Rating: 3.5/5

Sin City (2005)

Director: Frank Miller

Screenplay: Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez (based on the comic books by Miller)

Cast: Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Clive Owen, Mickey Rourke

Music: James Debney, Robert Rodriguez and Graeme Revell

Time: 124 minutes

Bottom-line: Would interest comic book fans; I’m not one of them

The film first came to my attention when I saw a YouTube video praising the film’s visuals. Having seen it, I would suggest just watching the trailer to get an idea of the visual effects used, and stay far away from the film. The anthology film features an ensemble cast consisting of Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Clive Owen, Benicio del Toro, Mickey Rourke, Carla Gugino, Elijah Wood and several others in smaller roles. Filled with all the violence and action of the comic books, the film is a more-than-vivid portrayal of those.

 

Willis as Hartigan, and Alba as Nancy

The Yellow Bastard is the tale of the ageing cop, John Hartigan (Willis), who tries to stop the serial killer Roark Jr. from killing his 4^th victim: eleven-year-old Nancy Callahan. Hartigan horribly disfigures Roark Jr, but is also shot fatally. Much later, he finds himself in the hospital, where he is charged with all the crimes Roark Jr. has committed. In jail, he receives letters from the adult Nancy (Alba) for eight years. When he goes after her following his release, he realises he’s put her life in jeopardy again.

The Hard Goodbye follows Marv (Rourke), who goes in search of the murderer of a woman he slept with. He zeroes in on the Roark family, but is subdued by a silent assassin (Wood), who has also captured Marv’s parole officer, Lucille (Gugino). That only means that Marv now has one more person to kill.

The Big Fat Kill is about Shellie’s abusive ex-boyfriend, Jackie Boy (del Toro), who goes to Old City with his friends. When he stalks a prostitute, Jackie and his friends are killed by a martial arts expert. Shellie’s current lover is Dwight (Owen), who has an on-and-off relationship with the prostitute leader, Gail. They realise that they have killed a police detective. Dwight helps them to dispose of the body, but things go awry.

Rourke as Marv 

The 124-minute screen time is divided into 3-4 parts for the three sub-stories mentioned above. At the end of each, closing credits roll, and the next story starts. All three plots (and another small story called The Customer is Always Right) have nothing in common with each other except that they all happen in Sin City, and some minor overlap of characters. The other common aspect is the intense violence and gore, and I don’t mean stylised action like say, The Terminator, I mean Game of Thrones level savagery! Everything from severed heads, severed limbs, humans eating humans, dogs eating humans, humans talking to corpses that have “come back alive” … Sin City has them all.

 

Wood as the assassin

But, ultimately, it is based on a comic book, so these aspects will certainly impress many. I, for one, liked the visual style of portrayal (not the visuals themselves!), especially the use of colour. Almost every scene is black and white, barring one colour: the red blood of Hartigan, the yellow disfigured man, the yellow pills that Marv takes, the full-white glasses of the assassin, the blue car that Jackie Boy drives and so on. This use of colour is really effective to see, and it’s the only takeaway from the film for me, apart from the masterfully created neo-noir atmosphere in all the stories. There is a lot of gory violence shown on screen, whose horror is partly diluted because they’re shown in black and white.

There’s hardly any scope for acting in the film, but I did like the performances of Bruce Willis and Clive Owen. The former once again plays the role of a protector/hero, and Clive Owen showcases a stylish performance too. Elijah Wood does pretty much nothing: his character is a mechanical, emotionless assassin, but boy, does he scare you!   

 

Owen as Dwight (left) and del Toro as Jackie

So, if you are into action comics, Sin City will surely be a satisfying entertainer. If not, like I said, just watch the trailer, and turn to some other film.

My Rating: 1.5/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 78%

Sigappu Rojakkal (1978)

English translation: Red Roses

Director: P. Bharathiraja

Story: P. Bharathiraja

Cast: Kamal Hassan, Sridevi

Music: Ilayaraaja

Time: 135 minutes

Bottom-line: An intense psychological thriller

Bharathiraja’s third film, Sigappu Rojakkal, is in many ways, a landmark in Tamil cinema history. Starring Kamal Hassan and Sridevi in the lead roles, the film is often hailed as a welcome break from the masala dramas of the 70s, as well as establishing Bharathiraja as a director of thrillers – since his first two films revolved only around village settings and people. The plot is Loosely based on a real-life serial killer in the 60s.

 

Kamal Hassan as Dileep

Dileep (Hassan) is a successful industrialist, running a minerals company. He lives in a large mansion, all alone, with a gardener, watchman and a helper boy. We get to know that Dileep is a womaniser, and he takes a liking to a sales girl in a garment shop: Sharada (Sridevi). As he starts to express his feelings and makes advances towards her, she, being a conservative woman, insists that they marry if he wants to have his ways. They get married, and she moves in with him. Meanwhile, a co-worker in Sharada’s shop goes missing, without a trace. The audience then gets to know the truth: Dileep has murdered the woman after having sex with her. As Sharada explores the house by herself, she stumbles upon Dileep’s heinous past as a serial killer of women. How does she escape?

This is also a movie that showed how versatile Kamal Hassan was. Imagining him as a serial killer is something unimaginable today, but this film proves his capabilities. His character development is masterfully done: first, we get to know that he’s lonely, then that he is a womaniser, and flashes from his past life give us a hint of his nature, and then we get a powerful jolt when his true intentions are exposed. Hassan skilfully plays a charmer and a creep, with his big glasses, his shady compliments and veneer of kindness. He later won the Filmfare award for Best Actor, and there’s no doubt he deserved it. Sridevi has also done an outstanding job, in one of her best performances early in her career - believe it or not, she was only 15 years old when the film came out! From the innocent woman oblivious to Dileep’s activities, to the desperate “prisoner” in his mansion, this is a simply wonderful display of acting.

 

Sridevi as Sharada

The story is slow to start with, but Bharathiraja constantly piques our interest with flashes from Dileep’s past. Many aspects of the second half of the film were similar to the 1999 film, Kaun, taking place entirely inside one house. The cinematography – hats off to the editing as well – and the score build up the suspense very effectively. The colour red is also put to good use on screen. The one song in the film, is also in the form of a dream sequence of Sharada since Kamal wasn’t happy with the idea of a serial killer engaging in romantic duets.

(Spoiler) The ending is another thing I loved. The irony when Dileep says, earlier in the film, that he will come to the prison on his next birthday to make a donation, but in reality, on his next birthday he is a prisoner, receiving apples from Sharada, who still remains as his wife. Yet another twist is when we see the inside of his cell, where all over the wall he has written her name: the only thing he remembers from the past. It is such an emotionally powerful climax. 

So, while Sigappu Rojakkal is highly unconventional, it is precisely the type of film I look forward to, and I was given a top-notch movie. It is not a pleasant watch, but you will be rewarded seeing Kamal and Sridevi in sublime form, in this gripping thriller.

My Rating: 4/5