Yuththam Sei - movie review

Mysskin, always insists that he is only a writer and is yet to graduate to a movie director. Well, you do  get a feeling of reading a tamil crime novel (read Rajeshkumar, Subha etc )when you watch his latest flick Yuththam sei. A couple of departments that lift the drama from that level to a celluloid movie are the camera and background score. Only problem here is what works at a crime novel level may not work as a movie. There are more loose ends to tighten in the latter. 

Mysskin joins the now growing bunch of directors ( Gautam Menon, Sasikumar) whose latest offerings depict the horrible crimes against young women. (I'm scared of this becoming the next trend in Tamil cinema after movies based on Madurai, 3m). But I'm sure this would be the one that has tried to limit obscenity as less as possible (Nadunisi naigal is yet to release). As in any typical Mysskin movie there are many strange angled shots, legs of the actors get more importance than their faces, slow panned shots to reveal carton boxes etc. I have to admit these techniques have worked well for this genre than a Nandhalaala. The first thing that hits you about the movie is the background score for sure. Kudos to the new kid around the block K

The reason this movie did not work for me is the fact that there are too many clues and characters that I gave up trying to solve the mystery in an hour. Also, the string connecting these clues - the protagonist CBI officer - is too confused and weak to concentrate on solving the plot for us to follow. The truth that unfolds later in the second half is neither believable or interesting enough. Finally, there are too many unanswered questions which end up as loop holes in the plot when you regurgitate the movie in your mind on the way back home. 

Cheran has done his best to underplay as the disturbed CBI officer. I have no idea why he needs the 2 assistants ( Dipa Shah and the other guy) Chelva has comeback to mainstream cinema with this movie. Jayaprakash, YG Mahendra steal the show. Again, I don't know what would difference it would make to the movie if Yugendran and a couple of guys in his gang are not there. Mysskin has to seriously change the way he visualises action scenes in his movies. Even though dramatic at the moment, the fights are repetitive, boring and not practically believable. Needless to say, Kannitheevu ponna is already a chart buster, but this is exactly where he looses his grip on the audience and everything that follows becomes predictable.

I did like the director's satire in a couple of scenes like - a cop stealing a watermelon. There was little emphasize on the explanation for the title Yuththam sei- which means 'wage a war'. A very few of the audience might wait till the last scene in the beach where Cheran talks to the boy over the phone about purpose of his parent's and his war.

Yeah, for once I do agree with Mysskin's on his ability as a director - this might have worked for me as a novel than a movie