Directors: B Unnikrishnan
Writer: Udayakrishna
Cast: Mammootty, Vinay Rai, Amala Paul, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Shine Tom Chacko, Dileesh Pothan
Crew: B Unnikrishnan, Udayakrishna, Faiz Siddik
In Christopher, there are lengthy 30-minute moments where all you can do is wait for what will happen. There is only one final destination that the movie has been building up to; the lines have been drawn, the characters have been defined. This is exactly what transpires in the end, but it's at this point that you realize Christopher has come up with a clever little method to add more female characters to the mainstream celebrity saviour film.
But first, it's crucial to comprehend why Christopher is still just another famous saviour movie. The movie is billed as the autobiography of a vigilante police officer, according to the caption. When you try to combine the characteristics of the classic super-cop movie with those of the superhero movie, it sounds very exciting. This features a sinister flashback that reveals Christopher's connection to the main issue, the craziness that makes him who he is, and the vigilante element in which he appears in the most appropriate settings—the khakhi, given that he has been suspended—even without his heroic attire.
The main focus is on how he eliminates sexual assault perpetrators, although it is clear that his approach as a "vigilante" is extrajudicial. Even more so than its dullness, this is the film's troublesome element. Months have passed since movies like Jana Gana Mana (2022) accused viewers of cheering for glorified encounter-killing sequences, but Christopher decides to reverse all those gains by harping on the shortcomings of the legal system and the need for extrajudicial killings.
When the movie emphasizes that the main character is a morally dubious vigilante, you sort of feel like allowing it some leeway to make its argument (again, for the hundredth time). But you quickly realize that this is just another aspirational term being used incorrectly. The fact that Christopher has been able to escape justice for so long after killing so many people continue to be amazing, but it is also ironic how little subtlety, intelligence, or cunning he displays in his extralegal activities.
The argument for a vigilante sounds even more absurd given that he is a social media sensation known to everyone in his state. But the lack of any individuality among the characters is what gives the movie its flat appearance. This includes Christopher himself, who is portrayed by Mammootty and lacks any depth or interiority. Christopher's craziness is described in various lines, especially when someone he cares about is harmed. However, these are still only lines that have no bearing on how we view the man. He comes off as being uninteresting and plain despite the fact that I believe he was intended to be a chilly, distant man who had been hardened by a lifetime of grief.
We now return to the original discussion of the film's attempt to innovate within the context of the saviour complex. However, Christopher is also a movie where practically every other character, aside from the protagonist and the antagonists, is a woman. This is in contrast to the reality that such a trigger-happy cop will either save or avenge every victim, which is obvious from scene one. Actors like Aishwarya Lekshmi play them. Amala Paul and Sneha, the heroine of Pramani by the same filmmaker, play prominent roles as a journalist, a senior police officer, and the Home Secretary, respectively.
Even if these characters are poorly written, it is at least a creative method to give the idea that many women are handling a film about women's difficulties. You can imagine better-written movies using this method to rework the male saviour movie once you take into account how the movie uses these characters to introduce twists.
There isn't much that stands out in this film, save from this one bright spot and Jakes Bejoy's outstanding theme for Christopher's entrance. Christopher would have sufficed if insane camera angles, unimaginative use of the Bolt robotic camera, and the inclusion of English language were all that was required to give a film's aesthetic a modern, up-to-date appearance. However, what we get is a movie with concepts and a plot so out of date that you want to pat yourself on the back three times, just like Christopher does, to remind yourself how much you've outgrown phrases like "If you are Trimurti, I'm your Samharamurti."
Note
The protagonist of Christopher is a vigilante, maverick police officer who is compelled to break the law as the system breaks down. It interweaves past and present while exposing the motivations and moral scars that influence his behavior.
0 Comments