JALLIKATTU - Review (Prime)

Got to watch Jallikattu at last, on Amazon Prime.

Clocking in at 95 minutes - at least 10 minutes of which go for the requisite special thanks, logos and credits - the film has the now-certified-auteur Lijo Jose Pellissery (LJP) unleashing a relentless assault on the senses with the help of his military-grade team, special mention going for his uber-athletic cinematographer Girish Gangadharan.

Opening with Prashant Pillai's eerily rhythmic juxtaposition of clock ticks and sudden wake-up breaths, the film starts with just another day in the village passing by, with almost everyone stopping at Varkey's meat shop, for beef counts as part of the village-folks' staple diet. However, just as the sun is about to rise the next day, that day's buffalo just barely escapes the edge of Varkey's knife and runs off. Panic ensues, torches and haystacks get lit... and the title fades in. Needless to say, the tension gets ramped up in no time, and the stage gets set for all-out chaos with the frenzied beast running amok and the even more frenzied humans hot on its tail, each clamouring for his** share of the now-prized meat.

** his - because all the hers have already wisely shut themselves in their houses.

Nope, Jallikattu - despite the very warm welcome it had received globally - is definitely not LJP's Magnum Opus. That crown still firmly sits atop the very meditative and mellow Ee.Ma.You, followed by, maybe, City of God, his second film. And in comparison to both those films, Jallikattu ends up being way too kinetic and crazed - not to mention a tad  pretentious, especially towards the end - in its storytelling, with little in terms of character development or performances to boast about. Now, part of this may be due to the fact that the whole film was redubbed in order to conform to its U/A rating here, as the original version that premiered in Toronto - rated 18A - had reportedly been rich in colorful lingo, most of it inadmissible even for an 'A' rating in India. How else can one explain the outrageously funny scene where the so-called nature lover breaks into an angry rant - totally silent, except for the chirping of birds in the vicinity - while the rest of the group looks on with varying degrees of bewilderment?

What the film lacks in terms of performances, it more than makes up for it with the technical grandeur on display. As mentioned above, the DP - who had previously worked with LJP on Angamaly Diaries - is constantly on the run here, stopping only for very brief respites. However, his work shines - both figuratively and literally - the most after the nightfall, when the torches come in en masse and that well is reached. LJP's partner-in-crime Prashant Pillai comes up with a score, solely made up of acapella and minimalist percussion. Certain cues from the score even serve as audio transitions that precede the intense and chaotic moments. Editor Deepu Joseph, unlike his work in Ee.Ma.You, goes in for quick and abrupt cuts, yet manages to maintain the rhythm throughout. The very intricate and busy soundscape - originally mixed in Atmos, and presented in Dolby 5.1 on Prime - complements the frenetic visuals, courtesy of Ranganath Ravee, another LJP regular. And finally, the animatronics and VFX departments deserve kudos for bringing that buffalo onto the screen.

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