Magalir Mattum is a Surya Production movie that has a star ensemble with Jyothika leading the pack. This is Bramma’s second venture after the critically acclaimed “Kutram Kadithal”.
Magalir Mattum, the title is taken from the wonderfully entertaining Kamal Hassan movie, and you wish the writer had written half as well as the namesake. As the title suggests the movie is a women centric one and sadly a movie that champions the cause of women need not indulge in mindless “men bashing”. Magalir Mattum makes the most of it. There are bad fathers,bad husbands,bad brothers, bad sons. Well, you don’t need villains when you have one gender completely bad. There is a running commentary as well about everything that is subtly told, but is still preachy. There are some fine sporadic moments that get lost in the melee. The recurring flashback scenes get a little tiring. The lack of a strong story and the heavy reliance on a running commentary that left leaning and is totally one sided, makes Magalir Mattum one jumpy ride. Women might still lap it up. There are many things that they can identify with in the movie.
With a house full of talented actresses and actors there is no dearth of fine performances in the film. Jyothika seems to get better with each film and in this film there is a clear influence of Surya style of acting in her performance ( should not be saying this in a women centric film),though at times it was flashy. The veterans in the form of Oorvashi, Banu priya and Saranya play their roles with ease. Surprisingly it is the men who overshadow the women. Nazar is a natural while Livingston delivers a very good performance. Pavel is the surprise of the lot.
The people behind the scenes make Magalir Mattum a good watch. Cinematography by Manikandan is top rate capturing the ethos very well while Ghibran is the star of the film with entertaining songs and excellent background score. Editing by Prem is decent whilst art and production departments deserve a special mention.
Magalir Mattum could have been a rollicking film, had it only ignored its indulgence in naivety. Jyothika sums up the movie in a dialogue from the film “Women freedom is marrying the person she loves”.
MAGALIR MATTUM – MAGALIRGALUKKU MATTUM !!
2.25/5
B.U.Shreesha
