Helen Movie Review

by Mosha World Mosha World

Helen Movie - A Must Watch Movie
Director Mathukutty Xavier - The New Kid On The Block
Anna Ben - A serious challenger to Parvathy Thiruvothu

Though it starts with the regular charming Widower Dad - Cheerful Daughter relation, the movie soon picks up speed as the girl, Helen, gets stuck inside the cold storage of the restaurant where she works. With no one to answer her screams and no way to escape the extreme chill, she has to do something extraordinary to get herself out, while her dad and his friend are on the run in search of her.

Performance-wise, Anna Ben as Helen, Lal as her father Paul and Noble Babu as Azar (her boyfriend) give commendable performances. Aju Varghese as a grumpy cop portrayed another dimension of his talent. All other actors including the ones playing the security guard, the neighbor man, Helen's friend at work, the elderly police constable and the elderly woman next door, play their parts sincerely. An actor whom I noted among them all is Binu Pappu, playing the senior policeman leading the investigation. The actor who was seen in small roles in various films this year including Lucifer, Virus and Ambili, gives a sincere performance. Vineeth Sreenivasan who appears in a very pivotal role in a single scene, steals the scene.

As a director, Mathukutty Xavier gets a bright start. The visuals by Anand C Chandran help in building the tension. The editing is also commendable. With no mention needed, Shaan Rahman's music is soothing. Though there are plot holes and unanswered questions at the end, the screenplay is adequate and so is the runtime.

A well-made survival thriller.

I know I'm a little too late to jump on the bandwagon here, and I'm not planning to either!

My two cents- the movie is mediocre and my two stars speak for that. Before you think of me as a cinema hating dull boi, i request you to give some thought and ponder over my criticism with a clear mind. So hang on fellas!

Anybody who's watched Helen would describe it as a feel good survival movie etched with its emotional moments. And in this regard the movie tries too much and is responsible for an overcooked, naive, and a boring storyline. Running over two hours, it was a tad bit overstretched to say the least.

Doesn't helen seem eeriely familiar?

Rajkumar Rao's "trapped" people? or umm does the movie Buried ring any bells? Off the top of my head i can think of several of these survival stories. Helen with all the beauty and talent of its lead protagonist played brilliantly by Anna, woefully rips off several "better" movies before itself, and does no justice. The central ploy is same. Someone trapped. Tries surviving in this locked place (and i must add not many clever choices helen!). People search. Some conflict. Human survives.

The script is tosh, reeking with boring characterisations, and has generally prescribed to laziness. We have a lot of convoluted conflicts, slow takes, repetitive events, some emotion, lots of randomness not purposely written for good measure.

What I hated about helen was how the movie pretentiously tried to present itself as a survival thriller on the lines of "race against time". At point i cared for the rat more than the protagonist who burnt her certificate when she could have clearly burnt the shitload of CARDBOARD CARTONS lying around. If that isn't stupidity, face it the whole movie is an exercise in one.

Oh but no! Helen fancies itself as an intellectual milestone in filmmaking. Aww with those 10-15 foreshadowing shots. So sweet.
1) the photo Anna and dad take in beginning is used to identify her later on.
2) the stick that falls of the larder wardrobe when helen falls, is later used to stop the freezer fans.
3) the rat they imply oh so casually in a previous scene, later literally comes up as a side character.
4) the freezer itself is shown several times before helen is trapped.
5) phone of one of the boys is called, and it is shown to be in the flat charging. Becomes a problem when the boyfriend encounters these boys.
6) Deus ex machina evil police. +++
7) watchman remembering smiling people ends saving helen.
I can go on and on...

Foreshadowing in a plot is good when done implicitly so that when something actually happens and they go back to the foreshadowed plot device it becomes surprising. If the movie showed a paper piece dangling in a frame for more than few seconds, hundred percent sure it'll come into play later on. And if you can recall, the movie completely piggybacks on this repeated concept.
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Helen is well acted out. Great performances all over, well other than the dude who played boyfriend. He umm, was uninspiring sorry!

Boohoo call me a sore loser who can't make films or don't understand the process. I am unapologetic.I am an ardent fan of cinema. All kinds of it. Language or genres have never been a barrier. Helen pains me so much because, it had so much going for it, but the movie never got off from its slow and meandering start.

Malayalam movies off late are being greatly written. Probably the best writers in the filmmaking industry hail from around here, and undoubtedly the best written films come from Mollywood. On that note, Helen is mediocre