Luca
Utharam (1989) is one of those unique feature in Malayalam which deals with whydunit rather than whodunit in a compelling fashion. Luca starts off with a similar premise and looked like a very promising start. But then it starts to wears off quickly in what could have been a compelling thriller into a mere average viewing experience. Its densely packed with too much of dialogues and multiple stories which at times felt totally irrelevant. But i love the climax portion a lot. The story combined the back tracking of the love story and current investigation. The love story was perfectly executed and latter felt really bland. A bit more finesse and intrigues would have made the investigation more effective. Tovino character felt more or similar to Charlie character played by Dulquer. The other main highlight is the visual appeal of the film and the frames were stunning. The big let down came from the overall execution, characterization of the cop and BGM. The constant rain did not add any value at all. I am going with a generous 3/5. My recommendation is to wait for the DVD.
Verdict - 3/5(A lost opportunity)
Rather than covering 20 % of screen with bold warning wording on smoking, helmet and seat belt, my recommendation would be to follow these strictly on cinemas. Its such annoying to see this.