Joker- A Visitor Review

Raju Murugan's second venture after Cuckoo interested everyone who watched its trailer. I for one entered the theatre hoping to see a good political movie after a long time. The producer of the film must first be congratulated for backing a movie like Joker. The technical aspects of the film are noteworthy beginning with the cinematographer of the film who has captured the beauty of Dharmapuri and the village that lies therein poignantly. Special mention to the aerial shots of the village. The cinematography and lighting went a long way in maintaining the mood of the film and the performances of the pain and the angst was fully captured for the celluloid by Cheziyan. The art director has also added weight to the film wherein his work is inseparable from the real locations and the editing of the movie was crisp and maintained focus on the narrative. Another big pillar for the movie is its music by Sean Roldan. The background score was apt which gelled with the scenes well and couple of songs stood out. Some of the songs could have been slightly better where the situations were well conceived, shot as montages and edited but the emotions did not quite reach the peak with the music.

The performances of the movie stand out starting with its lead Guru Somasundaram who has made his mark firmly with this film. He has fully brought out the innocence, the pain, the helplessness, the outcry of the common man and is ably supported by Ramasamy and others. The writing of the movie needs to be applauded for being bold, political, straightforward and for touching on some burning and current issues. The dialogues are again razor sharp and sometimes even work as slaps. Screenplay of the movie is taut and takes time when required and the balance therein is struck impactfully. The various references to national and regional parties and political leaders required guts and reference to the national flag itself was so ironically well done. Certain moments, actions of characters seemed cliched and more detailing could have been done in order to avoid certain caricatures. The second half of the movie is mostly melodramatic but given the crux of the film and the overall intended impact, the said melo-dramatic effect were used well and was justified within the narrative. At the eve of India celebrating its Independence Day, Joker raises important questions with reference to the system of governance prevailing in the Country and to the society at large as to their role in it. Joker is a timely bold important must watch film.