Movie Review: The Great Father

The Great Father is the debut feature film of Haneef Adeni. The movies capture our attention because of two things. Mammootty wears a lot of stylish costumes and sports a long beard. It is the season of beards. The beard and the clothes are looking good on Mammootty. The neatly cut trailer also adds to the curiosity factor associated with the movie. When all the above adds up, we are expectantly waiting for what Haneef has to offer.

The Great Father is a worthwhile movie to watch primarily because of the glimpses of promise shown by the director. It is a tremendous responsibility to direct Mammootty. At some point, you are forced to play to the gallery which in this case is the fanbase. The trailer promises a thriller, and the movie starts as a thriller. After the first five minutes, the movie concentrates on the mishap that falls on the family of David Ninan played by Mammootty. The tragedy deals with a difficult to palate yet commonly prevalent mental disease. Haneef shows courage in dealing with a taboo subject. At the same time, he sensitively handles the theme. It walks a tightrope, but Haneef balances it very well.

Haneef portrays the travails of a family suddenly thrust into a crisis. Before the crisis, they lead a happy life. The tragedy changes the comfortable atmosphere. The dad, the mom, and the daughter struggle to come out sane. During this part of the story, Haneef brilliantly places the camera in front of the various actors and let them emote. He can extract the best performances from all his actors. After this point, the movie transforms itself into a full-fledged thriller. The dad decides to take the law into his hand. If you look at the recent movies by Mammootty, the action scenes tend to repetitive. Haneef brilliantly avoids these repetitive scenes by showing the aftermath. There is still adrenaline and goose bumps aplenty.

Overall, the movie tackles a difficult subject. Although it is a touted as a small movie, there are a lot of familiar faces and has good production values. Haneef shows his brilliance at many places, but he is constricted by the larger than the life image of his hero. Arya as Andrews Eapen sticks out like a sore thumb. So is the case with Malavika Mohan. I am really looking forward to the next movie by the same director. The next movie will be the real test by the fire. As for the Great Father, it is a thriller with quite a bit of drama thrown in. The topic is disturbing even though the treatment is sensitive. Forget the hype and see the movie. It is interesting to see Mammootty emote as a father in the first half.

Language: Malayalam

Genre: Thriller

Rating: ***