Neymar
Introduction
It is still Tuesday but the new releases have started pouring in already! This week(and probably the next week as well) is going to be hectic and with a deep breath, I begin with my goal of watching and reviewing most of the new releases which are in store. First up, I finished watching the new Malayalam film Neymar which is now streaming on Hotstar. There has been a bit of an extended lull as far as the Malayalam films are concerned. A film industey known to continuously churn out one quality content after another has just met with a bit of an obstacle in the past few months. To give you a perspective, I can’t quite place the last Malayalam film which I may have watched and reviewed, and trust me, I have rarely missed out on Malayalam content.
That did seem to change when I got to know about Neymar making its way to OTT. It did exude of a warm vibe right from its poster featuring a cute little canine, which almost promised to form a connection with the viewers. It was last year when I had watched the Kannada film 777 Charlie and I was extremely moved by that drama. I expected a similar sentiment although not quite an out and out emotional film. So then does Neymar manage to impress, lets find out.
Story & Screenplay
Neymar follows the story of a two boys who opt for a pet dog until one day it goes missing. Will they be able to find their beloved pet? I have purposely kept the story brief by only mentioning a slender premise, but the drama here is heartwarming and exudes of a feel-good vibe. My minor criticism about the film from the story perspective is that it plays safe all along. Malayalam films are known to take risks but here the drama was simplistic but heartfelt nevertheless. The screenplay standing at a whopping 160 minutes did account for a daunting task to begin with. But the writing ensures that there are several moments that gently tug the strings of your heart.
The drama does open with the introduction of the two protagonists who are the best of friends with one of them madly in love with a girl from their neighbourhood(other than being football fans). You are given an account of the life of their little town that has a sleepy but sweet vibe to it. In a slightly indifferent turn of events, the boys opt for a pet in order to continue their budding love life. The nuisance of the pet does result in havoc thereby forcing the father of one of the boys to send the canine packing. Thus, emerges a quest by the boys to find their pet. I did feel that the writing was slightly too convenient at certain places. But what worked was the emotions and the sincere character traits of the protagonists.
The proceedings are fairly engrossing but definitely exuding of a feel-good vibe that masks a few of the flaws related to the inconsistent writing. The conflict is soon resolved only to be followed up with a local tournament for dogs, the transition of which was slightly forced. But it is the emotions that do hit hard with the bond of protagonists with their canine that forms the crux of the drama. There are situations created which are interesting but predictable yet there is a breezy purpose to the drama that consistently makes it a light and frothy watch.
The final act comprises of the reunion of the parents turning them from foes to friends, and that entire sequence did put a smile on my face. The portions of the tournament are cliched and predictable and that is especially true in the final act with every cliche in the book thrown in the mix. What that does was that the emotions did quite touch me at the end despite being well intended. The safe drama just threatened to come apart but what kept me going was the bonding between various characters that hit home. Overall, the screenplay comprises of some inconsistent writing but it does enough to pack in ample moments of warmth.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are conversational and make for a pleasant impact which would put a smile on your face. The music is good and goes well with the vibe of the drama. The BGM also does work in elevating certain scenes. The cinematography is a bit of a mixed bag. While it did capture some beautiful frames of the surroundings(with correct colour grading), this drama had no business to utilize multiple slow motion shots. The only slow-mo shot that worked was during the fight sequence involving the parents at the end. But everywhere else, it was a miss. Also, I would have liked the technical department to inculcate the cultural vibe of the two areas of the film, a little more! The editing had multiple jump cuts during the tournament that did dilute the overall excitement of the games. Director Sudhi Maddison does a good job with the drama in tapping into the required emotions that makes for a heartwarming watch. Some parts of the inconsistent writing were overcome quite well with the direction.
Performances
The performances are pretty good. Gowri Krishna as Dona and Keerthana Sreekumar as Amala have a sweet presence and account for a pleasant impact. Yoge Jappie as Gabri has an intimidating presence but with a soft heart and makes for a solid impact. Shammi Thilakan as Sahadevan, Vijayaraghavan as Chackola and Johny Antony as Thomas all have their moments to shine. But the stars of the show are Naslen Gafoor as Sinto and Mathew Thomas as Kunjava, both of whom share a warm vibe in the film. There are many scenes wherein atleast one of them rises to the occasion and steadies the ship. Both of them are brilliant along with being sincere and earnest throughout.
Conclusion
Despite the inconsistent writing, Neymar is a feel good drama involving a heartwarming canine that makes for a good one-time watch. Available on Hotstar.