Review of the movie Lover directed by Prabhuram Vyas

Love is an emotion that has always intrigued me. It is loaded with lot of contrarian feelings- you need the person you love to be possessive about you yet you need your space; you need that person to respect your thoughts and let you do things on your own course yet you want that person to offer their unsolicited views, and I could go on and on about how this universal feeling called "LOVE" is so unfathomable and complex. Perhaps, this is why, no matter how many movies are made around the central theme of love, new ones with fresher perspective like "Lover" still are celebrated by the audience.

Director Prabhuram Vyas got his basics right by casting Manikandan and Sri Gouri Priya as the lead actors. The plot is pretty straight forward and cliched- the hero is possessive about his partner, which leads to conflicts between them; whether the lovers cross those hurdles and unite in their life is the climax. 

Manikandan, who is known for portraying intense emotions, doesn't let the audience down.  He excels in all of his roles- as a protective and an emotional son who finds solace in his mother's lap, an angry and infuriated son who wants to throw a punch on his father for betraying his mother and an over protective and a possessive lover, who just can't stand seeing his lover talking to another man. 

I should say that Sri Gouri Priya is a great find and she almost matches Manikandan in exhibiting her emotions well, especially in the scene where she breaks down over phone as she talks to Manikandan's mother, deftly portraying her helplessness. Kanna Ravi and all the other supporting actors play their roles well, though not much of a meat in any of their's, which the director could have worked upon.

Prabhuram Vyas could potentially become another GVM in handling love stories, as in many places he has wielded the story in a very causal and realistic manner. For instance, in one particular scene, with the way the movie was going, I almost decided that hero's mother would die in the next few scenes, as the preluding scenes in any other typical movie would have led to that, but the director surprises the audience with his approach. In some places, he has carefully avoided overloaded drama and toned down reactions, replacing words with subtle gestures, thereby, making it natural and relatable to the audience.  The fact that the lovers were in a six-year relationship and the realisation on the part of the female lead, questioning whether she has got any feelings for Manikandan at all, was something that the audience would find difficult to digest, as it would have been for the male lead. All of these subtleties were well captured by the director. The movie's climax is also very light hearted without any stereotypical ending, clearly signalling how the lovers grown up, highlighting that even love undergoes maturation.  Kudos to the director for portraying such a nuanced, matured and emotional love story!! 

Sean Roldan's music perfectly complements the intensity of the screenplay and the songs are well placed and are soothing to the ears. I particularly liked the track "Ezhuda Kadhaiyo", whose lyircs is also well written. 

To me, this definitely is a one time watch, especially to witness Manikandan's superior performance. I was floored by his acting in many scenes, the one that topped my chart was when he confronts his father in the hospital, while the latter comes to visit his wife(Manikandan's mother); Manikandan's whole body vibrates in intense anger, exhibiting frustration and deep pain and this showed how the character gets into his body and mind, making the audience feel the emotions that he goes through, on the screen.

The general audience reviews are mixed, where few claims that the love portrayed in this movie is toxic and the female lead is justified in her act. I, however, felt that its difficult to take sides like in most of the real life love stories and time and again, the one underlying theme that resonates across all the love stories is that the couple should talk through their emotions, with trust and respect for each other. The female lead never talks about her emotions and what it feels like to be closely guarded by her boy friend and the male lead, on the other hand, doesn't open up about his insecurity, rather chokes her with his overwhelming possessive acts. I liked the way the movie ended with James Baldwin's quote and I would like to end this review blog with the same. If you are looking for one line summary of the movie, then this is the one that befittingly encapsulates the essence of the movie :)

"Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle, love is a war; love is a growing up."