With Home, Malayalam cinema once again prove how content-based movies can also revolve around the middle or old-aged characters without getting melodramatic bringing heartfelt smiles onto our faces. Thoughtfully written and directed by Rojin Thomas, Home is a film representing the present times when emotions get only expressed on digital mediums, forgetting or avoiding personal contacts. It brings forward the contradicting reality of the new world where everyone stays connected but living in their digital shells holding on to their personal gadgets. It is a heart-warming family drama where technological advancement plays the villain, resulting in some unexpected story developments.
Home begins well and continues at an unhurried pace, focusing on the head of a family who is not familiar with the smartphones but wishes to learn their use getting fascinated by the world of FB, Insta and WhatsApp. His young sons teach him how to operate ignorantly, but the old man never complains adjusting to their changing behaviour. It is in reality the story of every household and its members having their own sweet and bitter experiences related to these new-age gadgets.
The film beautifully captures many emotional, life-affecting moments as the ironies of the present digital life in which we all begin and end the day checking the likes, comments, or responses on various social platforms. The film has its flaws of a lengthy duration and a few repetitive elements, but it overall comes out as a winner without being preachy, offering a lot of comic moments. The execution touches hearts soulfully depicting changing relationship between the youngsters and their father.
Emoting on a brilliant script, Home also excels because of its smartly created characters and splendid performances by the entire cast making an instant connection with both the young and the old. Here at one end, we have a middle-aged father, his close childhood friend, an ailing old man, and a mother of two youngsters. But on the other, there is a young director stuck in his creative block, his professional circle, a young boy willing to be a YouTube celebrity, and more making us recall many real-life characters around us.
Presented with a fine production design, camerawork, and soothing music, Home truly belongs to Indrans playing the central character showcasing excellent chemistry with the rest of the cast. He naturally lives the role of Oliver and stays in your mind long after the film gets over. However, one does tend to think that was it necessary for him to do something extraordinary to prove his worth or existence.
Overall, Home taught me something important indicating the change required in my interaction with the elders regarding the use of new technology. And I hope it does reach out in a similar way to many other viewers too, constructively enhancing our relationships. So, watch it at the earliest as a weekend family film and give it a serious thought, if possible.
Rating : 4 / 5
(Streaming at Amazon Prime)
Bobby Sing
(bobbytalkscinema.com)
NOTE : The article was first published in THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL Newspaper (Mumbai Edition) on 24th September 2021.
