Review for 2018: Everyone is a Hero
- REVIEW BY ARUNJYOTHI R
•Language: MALAYALAM
•Duration: 02 Hour 30 Minutes.
•Genre: Survival Thriller.
•POSITIVES:
1: DIRECTION
2: STORY, SCREENPLAY & DIALOGUES
3: THRILLING SECOND HALF
4: SET AND ART WORK
5: PERFORMANCE OF ACTORS
6: CINEMATOGRAPHY
7: EDITING
8: BACKGROUND SCORE
9: PRODUCTION DESIGN
10: SOUND DESIGN
•NEGATIVES:
1: Compared with the second half, the first half was a bit slow.
•ONE WORD: A brilliantly executed survival thriller that should not be missed.
•STORY IDEA:
The plot of the movie starts in a town called Aruvikkulam, where we can see a youngster Anoop who ran away from the army with the help of a fake medical certificate. He left the army because of fear and helps the blind Dasettan who has a shop. On the other side, we have Nixon, who wishes to become a supermodel. Nixon’s father and brother are brave fishermen who wish to see Nixon as a brave fisherman like themselves. In the middle, Ramesh who works abroad is on the edge to face divorce. Then we have Shaji who is a busy government employee in the Collectorate who does not get time to spend with his family. And Kalaiyarasan, a lorry driver on a mission to deliver a special package who doesn’t like Keralities. Soon, the natural calamity of excessive rain and flood will happen in the land of Kerala and people will be badly affected. After 26 years, the shutters of the Idukki Dam will be opened and due to the continuous rain, it will lead to a massive flood. The state ministry and government authorities will face trouble to help and save the people of Kerala. What will happen to the land of Kerala, who will save the people, how the rescue will be conducted and in flood what will happen to all the above-mentioned characters?
- DETAILED REVIEW:
2018: Everyone is a Hero is a survival thriller written and directed by Jude Anthany Joseph and Akhil P. Dharmajan also joins in the writings. The movie is based on the 2018 Kerala flood. The film is produced by Venu Kunnappilly, C. K. Padma Kumar and Anto Joseph under the production company of Kavya Film Company and PK Prime Production. Kavya Film Company does the distribution for the film. With a running time of 150 minutes, the film is currently successfully running in theaters with a censor certificate of U/A.
Jude Anthany Joseph, the filmmaker behind the film 2018: Everybody is a Hero deserves a huge round of applause because he has created an unbelievable survival thriller for the Malayalam film industry. His direction is the first winning success of this film, it was passionate and amazingly executed. 2018 is a year which can’t be easily forgotten, the floods and aftereffects of the natural disasters changed the life of many people. So, here Jude Anthany has made a beautiful movie inspired by the 2018 Kerala flood which will be ranked among the best survival thrillers. From the very beginning till the end, this movie will make us engage and the entire second half is something that is gonna blow your mind away. I was shocked by seeing the second half and was thinking how Jude Anthany Joseph had cleverly made this movie. His whole filmmaking was strong enough to contrive my mind and I was fully immersed in the movie. I was able to see the real outcomes of the flood, also how the people suffered, the risk they took and the sacrifices they made were authentically brought into the screen. So, the feeling that I got while watching the film was priceless, and this film is going to stay on my favourite list of survival thrillers.
The direction of Jude Anthany was outstanding, the entire movie was having predominant quality and he hasn’t compromised and a realistic feel was felt all over the film. The most important fact is that while watching the film I was getting the proper impact of the flood premise. The different occurrences, unexpected happenings and the fight for survival were taking me into a completely thrilling mood and till the end, I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. So, the level of curiosity and my eagerness to know what is next was loaded with me throughout and at many times the movie had given me nail biting moments. The momentum which Jude Anthany Joseph maintained in his making style was incredible because the movie doesn’t feel exaggerated at any point. The struggling situations, the rescues in the film and the ultimate fight for saving life were made in a convincing manner so I was easily able to connect with the occurrences in the film. He had brought many excellent characters and brilliantly connected them with the premise of the 2018 Kerala flood. Therefore, the situations in the film looked more relatable and I’m sure every audience will easily get attached to the characters and their life. In the beginning, some fishermen get stuck in the inner sea due to the heavy rain and their rescue scene was unbelievably directed by Jude Anthany Joseph. The visual effects, the arrangements, the lighting and the sound design were breathtaking and the quality of that scene was giving me a feeling that this movie is going to be rich in technicality. And that feeling was not wrong because this movie has a mind-blowing technical quality.
The efforts of the makers behind this film are huge, a dedicated passionate teamwork will be able to see. The artwork, set and production quality were massive, instead of fully going with VFX they created a proper set and it had given more beauty to the film. Everything was looking real, I didn’t get any artificial feel and the complete film looked actual and real. The second half of the film is like a game-changer, the real face of the flood is revealed in the second half. The structure of this film is cleverly planned and executed, from the initial beginning, the movie takes its time to establish the story. Many characters are brought into the script and every central character is affirmed with good subplots. Soon these characters will be connected to the flood scenarios and they will meet face-to-face to stand up against the complicated situations of a flood. Here the rescue scenes were of top-notch quality and many scenes were inspired by the real incidents of the Kerala flood. For example, fishermen coming to save life and the real-life rescue incident of a pregnant lady who happened at the time of the flood is very popular. It was recreated in this film and it was one of the best touching and heart beating scenes. So, all the rescue scenes in the film will make you entertained and thrilled. Also, the climax is something which still disturbs me. If it’s revealed here it will lead to spoilers so I can guarantee you that the climax of this film will haunt you. In the ending there is a scene of a crying child, it still haunts me. Also, the horror of the sight, the cries for life heard and the things done to save the loved ones will touch your heart deeply. Because of this, you won’t be able to leave the theatre without shedding tears.
The script is solid and strong, and after watching the film it is evident that the story and the screenplay were written carefully. Proper and convincing explanations are given for each incident, so the research conducted for this script was extraordinary. The character played by Tovino Thomas has an upper hand over other characters, his character has been given more screen space. His journey from a fearful person to a real-life hero was written out in the script effectively. The characters of Asif Ali, Lal, Narain, Sudheesh, Kunchacko Boban, Aju Varghese and Vineeth Sreenivasan were also powerful to lead the movie and these characters were connected equally with proper importance. The character of Kalaiyarasan had shown a different shade and it was emotionally connecting. The characters of Aparna Balamurali, Siddique, and Gauthami Nair didn’t make a proper impact. I felt after a point their characters were forgotten but it didn’t affect the intensity of the film. The first half can be felt a little bit slow because it takes time to introduce many characters. In between the warning of the flood, the visuals of continuous incessant rain, and the threat of low-pressure area forms in the sea will create curiosity. But, all those scenes are shown as a glimpse, in the film the first half gives more importance to the life stories of the central characters so a kind of a slight lag was felt. But everything was overcome by the fantastic second half, the breathtaking visuals will tell the real story. Therefore, the second half will make you thrilled and emotional and I’m sure you will be getting a different cinematic experience.
The performance of every actor in the film needs to be specially mentioned because every single actor and actress delivered a brilliant performance. Tovino Thomas had more to perform and he delivered a phenomenal performance. His performance was realistic and expressions were precise and the timing in dialogue delivery was actual. The climax was crammed with his moments and he had wonderfully acted out all his rescue scenes. Asif Ali had done a neat performance, his emotional scenes were good and the combination scene with Lal was intense. Narain and Lal combination the scene is stunning and will surely impress you. Kunchacko Boban’s role was summoned in a government office with limited scenes but in the second half, there is an emotional sequence which will show his real acting skills. Lal was in his best form and the father role was safer in his hands. Narain’s role was nice and he did his part well. Kalaiyarasan appears to do a key role as a Tamil lorry driver and he has done a fair job. Sudheesh in the climax was awesome, the emotion of a caring and loving father was evidently seen. Vineeth Sreenivasan, Indrans, Aju Varghese and Joy Mathew had done total justice to their respective characters. Tanvi Ram did a notable performance and the performance of Jilu Joseph in the climax was astounding. Sudeesh, Jilu Joseph, Tovino Thomas and Indrans made the climax more touching.
The background score tuned by Nobin Paul was exceptional, he had clearly understood the genre of survival thriller and effectively the best background tunes were given for the film. To be more precise the background score was having the power to dominate us, and the scenes which were supposed to make the audience thrilled were having the support of arresting background music. The tunes will give the feel of curiosity and will also pass an eager vibe to know what’s next. The cinematography is world-class, I can strongly say that Akhil George is a great cinematographer. His visuals have the energy to engage every viewer, and he gives a spectacular visual treat. All the rescue scenes were captured incredibly and the different camera movements and angles will surprise you. The climax visuals will make you thrilled because the climax was crammed with many unbelievable sequences where Tovino tries to save a family who is stuck in a house filled full of water. Those visuals are spirited with fear and a father’s obsession to save his wife and son. The climax visuals will definitely haunt you and I’m sure the cinematographer Akhil Geroge can do more wonders through the camera in future. The editing of Chaman Chakko was fine, I didn’t feel the movie was stretched and the 150 minutes had the perfect cuts with mismatches. The colour-grading made the visuals more appealing and the extraordinary sound effects had given more vibrancy to the film. The theatre which I saw was having the support of Dolby Atmos so the effects of sound mixing were enormous. The set which the makers had created for the movie is phenomenal, initially I thought it was VFX but later came to know that the sets made in the film are real. Due to this realistic brave approach, the flood scene had more depth and the rescue scene looked more unique. The impressive production design and visual effects deserve special mention.
CONCLUSION:
So, overall the film 2018: Everyone is a Hero has given me an unforgettable cinematic experience and it’s one of the best Malayalam films I have watched this year. The direction and script of Jude Anthany Joseph are brilliant and his making style was unique and impressive. The performance of every single actor in this film is outstanding and I’m sure everyone will love this survival thriller because it is engaging and offers a nail-biting theatre experience. Therefore, to conclude, this film perfectly shows the real face of the Kerala Flood that happened in 2018 and it’s a great tribute to the real-life heroes who were involved in the rescue mission. I will definitely recommend this unbelievably well-made survival thriller to everyone and please kindly watch it on the big screen.
•VERDICT: MUST-WATCH
•RATING: 4.5/5
- A REVIEW BY ARUNJYOTHI R
