The title had the much needed phonetic pun (in Tamil) and also conveyed what the movie could be all about. Penguins, as we’ve witnessed on some of the wildlife television series, are synonymous with motherhood, as they are often seen with their chicks, protecting them from the harsh weather and lurking predators.
With a national award-winning actor like Keerthy Suresh anchoring the cast and an indie-vibed production house like Karthik Subbaraj’s Stone Bench Films backing the movie, there was a decent buzz even though Amazon, the OTT partner strangely underplayed the promotions for the movie.
Penguin is supposed to be a thrilling journey of a pregnant mother who is in search of her first child who was lost a few years back. Though she has moved on from the past with great difficulty, her son gets back to her only to make things murkier. The movie that had very little to offer in terms of a solid story or thrills, employs the classic ‘whodunit’ template that has been tried and tested.
Debutant director Eashvar Karthic has tried too hard to create an eerie ethos. The first attempt for it was to base the story’s backdrop in a hill station like Kodaikanal and leveraging on the smoky fog and the haunting milieu. Then, there was a clueless mask man who makes an appearance every now and then with pre-ordained actions that engaged us the least. The manner in which the scenes were splurged onto the screen and the dots that were left disconnected left the movie in a vile mess.
‘Rhythm’, the character played by Keerthy was obviously a significant one and that’s not because of the writing, but was solely due to Keerthy's performance. No matter how hard she tried, the writing was so inane that every time she got pulled back. Adding to the woes was Keerthy’s ‘slim’ look that depicted her like a ‘malnourished’ pregnant woman.
Also, the roles of ‘Madhampatti’ Rangaraj and Linga were too generic and there was no depth in the delicate relationship that they shared. Even if the director has infused a progressive mindset into the script by depicting a re-marriage for the female lead, and not making a fuss about it, there were so many loopholes and average performances that tainted those silver linings.
The most significant revelation that comes towards the climax dealt the final blow - the last nail on the coffin. The rationale behind the abduction and the performance of that character was naive to say the least. In fact, Mathi who played the role of a psychiatrist did a decent job, though he went overboard thanks to lack of imagination in writing (Q&A, seriously?).
On the technical front, the movie scored some brownie points for eye-catching cinematography and slick editing. However, music, especially BGM from Santhosh Narayanan did not sync well with the proceedings - it was offbeat (pun intended).
Overall, the movie would be a huge let down even for anyone who is planning to watch it for Keerthy Suresh. Thankfully, since it is an Amazon exclusive, one has the luxury to pause and watch it in parts whenever the time is at their disposal. Watch it if you have enough bandwidth!
Verdict: Disappointing
Rating: 1.75 / 5
