Bougainvillea
Introduction
The idea of dividing a film into the first, second and third act from a review perspective is primarily to gauge the coherence of the drama with regard to its storytelling and tone. Keeping that in mind, the new Malayalam film succeeds in the first two acts – setting the mood of the drama just right with some good levels of intrigue that quietly act as a byproduct to its razor sharp filmmaking. But seldom this year have I been so letdown by the final act that not only left me disappointed but cheated in many ways. And that sums up my feelings for Bougainvillea that threatens to take off and land in an uncartered territory before just chickening out at the last minute, only to hit familiar beats that are half-baked and just convenient at the end of the day. This was particularly surprising given the high standards that the Malayalam Film Industry had set for itself, and also given that this film was the first new film that I had watched in a theatre since the brilliant film Kishkindha Kaandam.
Story & Screenplay
The two themes in the film Bougainvillea often go hand in hand. At the surface level, it is a thriller following the investigation behind the missing girls in the vicinity of the area where the drama is set in. But the second level is dedicated towards a character study, focusing on the psyche of a character suffering from amnesia. These two themes are pivotal and act as a crux of the drama even while maintaining an understated nature that doubles up as a smokescreen for the viewers. The issue that I had was with the payoff that completely changed the tone of the drama while being predictable all the way. Yet, there is lots to admire in the screenplay here standing at a runtime of 130 odd minutes.
It is very early on in the film you are witness to an incident that acts as an early pivot in the drama. And although the drama takes a generational leap of sorts (8 years to be precise), the thread of the main incident links itself to a character that is seemingly delusioned while having odd traits in her behavior. And while the condition presented is ‘Retrograde Amnesia’, there is enough in her behavior to reckon that something isn’t right, be it her panic attacks or her sudden outburst at random instances. The beats of the screenplay are understated that allows you enough time to spend with the protagonist, and her seemingly loving husband that strives to take good care of her albeit certain bouts of violence that you see enduring on her. The twist in the tale takes place when an investigation around a missing girl traces its roots back to the protagonist, with her amnesia coming in way of the grand revelation.
The proceedings are definitely interesting while deftly maintaining the tempo of the drama, even as the cops explore options to investigate the drama with the protagonist at the center of it. And given her tryst with amnesia there are various versions to the case that also adds to the delusion for the viewers, given that majority of the case unfolds through the gaze and memory of the protagonist. There are subtle twists and turns in the drama that keep you invested even though there aren’t too many alarming or shocking instances of the same. Having said that, the little revelation at the halfway mark definitely makes things interesting while promising a grand setup for the drama that was clearly in the ascendancy. But things drop steadily in the second hour.
I did have a few issues with the manner in which the characters of the cops were written, something that didn’t quite add a new dimension in the narrative. If the entire investigation was stationed around a single character, then the writing needed to be sharper given that the drama would soon get repetitive. And even though the pointers were interesting, the drama was slightly repetitive in the middle, something that turned out to be least of my problems at the end. This is because the final act instead of taking you by surprise, completely went on a predictable route. I would still as passed that off as an issue of preference but suddenly, the tone of the drama switched into something more massy that just didn’t seem to be a part of this world. The shift in tone ought to have been towards fear rather than heroism, something that didn’t impress me at all. To top it, the justification of the ultimate reveal came across as tepid, with a backstory that just seemed like an afterthought. What it ideally needed was another layer of intrigue in the form of a twist to actually make it work (there was an opportunity to leave the drama in an ambiguous form too), but alas! Also, the spoonfeeding of details to the viewers is just not expected from Malayalam films. The final showdown followed by a line by the character of the cop saying, ‘We have been incompetent’, essentially sums up the screenplay that had its moments but failed to make a splash at the end.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are understated for most parts in the drama but literally fall through to laughable levels in the final act. The music is good and the songs definitely blend well with the narrative. The BGM is an interesting case study here – it definitely works as riveting beats if I were to listen to the set pieces, individually. But the moment the notes were blended with the drama, they came across as a bit of a distraction particularly in the finale act. It did little to enhance the drama where the need of the hour was to use the tone of fear, through the correct use of silence. The cinematography comprises of frames that do stand out throughout the course of the film. Be it the closeup shots, coaxing the viewers to enter the psyche of the protagonist while also balancing the frames with beautiful aesthetics around it. The style is definitely evident in the third act, and atleast the frames manage to impress. The editing is pretty good here comprising of some wonderful match cuts and transition cuts that make for a good movie watching experience. The fast interlinked cuts do salvage some praise even with the otherwise faltering final act. Director Amal Neerad definitely manages to impress in a film that was very unconventional for him. He does manage to provide a steady gaze for the first two acts before returning to his comfort zone in the third and final act. And while there were minor issues with the staging, the direction still remained pretty good.
Performances
The performances are one of the main reasons that this film works at the end of the day (to an extent). Athira Patel as Chhaya has her moments to shine and she does a good job. Srindaa as Rema and Sharafudheen as Biju are fine actors, and both manage to impress here. Veena Nandakumar as Meera has a wonderful screen presence and she puts her best foot forward despite having a character with a one-tone to essay. Fahadh Faasil and his character here is an interesting case study. Fahadh is a superb actor and often spews magic onscreen almost every single time. But here the character of David that he essays has got to be the weakest written character in years, so much so that I felt that the writers already knew that they have messed up the writing of the character, only to approach Fahadh to save the day (just a conjecture). Kunchacko Boban as Royce is excellent here given that his understated character has many beats to it. And he is wonderful to witness even in that finale act that didn’t work for me. Jyothirmani as Reethu delivers a beautifully understated performance that is essentially the soul of the film. She hardly misses a beat in the film and delivers a quietly powerful act that saves the film at the end of the day.
Conclusion
Despite a woefully tepid final act, Bougainvillea is a decent psychological thriller with excellent filmmaking and performances that makes for a decent watch overall. The conflict for me lay in liking and disliking the same film at various junctures that ultimately kept the drama at mid-levels for me. Nothing more, nothing less! Available in a theatre near you.