I didn't exactly expect a 'Drishyam' or 'Memories' when I went to watch Jeethu Joseph's latest crime drama 'Oozham' starring Prithviraj Sukumaran. However, when the thrill quotient is abysmally low and predictability is on the rise with each successive sequence, the movie tends to leave absolutely zero impact by the time the end credits roll. This is exactly what happens in the case of 'Oozham'. It's a clear- cut hero vs. villain revenge drama that has been done to death in the history of cinema itself. What makes these flicks engrossing are the innovative methods deployed by the protagonist to seek vengeance against the ones who wronged him. Here, even the methods stick out like a sore thumb. The leads converse with each other as if they're trying to pull off a 'Thani Oruvan'esque style cat and mouse thriller but one can't help getting reminded of Prithviraj's earlier crime thrillers 'Anwar' for the similar light shades used and the feel-good family portions (in Oozham's initial half), '7th Day' for its smooth talking criminal who gets the job done without much hassle, and 'Robin Hood' where the Tam-brahm dude gets wronged by a businessman and ultimately conjures up his own ways to seek redemption. The quick transitions from past to present looks effective initially but gets repetitive after a while.
Cardboard villains who wreak havoc for their own benefit and sporadically speak in English (for a good part of their screen time) take away a sizeable portion of our patience. Jayaprakash is definitely a good actor but the script reduces him to a mere buffoon. The same can be said about Pasupathy's character who at times even seemed unintentionally funny. Balachandra Menon and Neeraj Madhav are alright, but the actress who played Prithviraj's sister in the movie leaves a lot be desired. The cop characters and angles are underdeveloped and ultimately do very little but add to the run-time.
The less said about the plot the better. And I'm not saying that in a positive sense. The kind of screenplay that the viewer is subjected to, appears nothing short of disappointing. You very well know that it doesn't do one bit of good for a movie when people are staring into their phones way too often. Looking at the few positives, the BGM is pretty good and helps amp up the proceedings to a certain extent. I liked the director's idea of cutting a full length and quite well-executed action sequence into itsy-bitsy pieces to intensify the brawny element. However the reasons for all what unfolds on the screen is unquestionably hackneyed and predictability further plays spoilsport.
Quite frankly, the revenge drama (Jeethu claims 'Oozham' isn't a thriller but all signs point to yes!) requires some serious re-work in the editing department. Even then, I'm not sure the movie would be able to grasp the viewer's attention. To top it all, the climax is a complete bummer. This one gets a generous 2 out of five stars.
