The brand of Jeethu Joseph’s thrillers is quite a phenomenon with movies like ‘Dryshyam’ and ‘Memories’ doing well. While the former was a suspense thriller, the latter was a investigative thriller. And yet again the director has experimented with another of the thriller genre with ‘Oozham’. Like Jeethu himself has said, thrillers can have various faces. This one is an out and out revenge thriller. And it does follow all the conventions of a typical revenge drama. The thrills are there and so are the reasons for the revenge.
As with most of Jeethu Joseph movies, this thriller is also interspersed with haunting family bonding and love. This provides the emotional quotient of the movie. The problem that a common audience would feel is the lack or downplay of suspense in it. Expecting another ‘Dryshyam’ or ‘Memories’ will surely spoil the mood. ‘Oozham’ is altogether a different experience.
Also, we have another thriller - Priyadarshan’s ‘Oppam’ simultaneously released, which could offer a staunch competition. But again, both the movies though engaging with a similarly placed plot as with entire families getting wiped out and ensuing revenge, the points of view and perspectives differ. While in ‘Oppam’, the hero is the defender, in ‘Oozham’, the hero is the avenger. Prithviraj as the protagonist is intense and goes about avenging the death of his loved ones.
Like I said before, there is no suspense regarding the killer or the motives. The first half itself reveals the antagonist of the movie. The rest of the movie is how the hero teases out his family’s killer and takes revenge slowly and steadily. The emotional drama surrounding the family may feel clichéd at some point, but manages to hold its own. Neeraj Madhav and Divya Pillai who play the siblings are impressive. We have seen such movies a lot and the repetitive nature of the narrative may be a put off. Jeethu has tried to tweak the narrative a bit through a non - linear narrative, shifting through time, employing flash backs and fast forwards.
Technically, the movie is sound. We have a camera work which is racy and an editing which maintains the pace of the thriller. There are not too many song sequences in the movie which sustains the movie’s mood. The BGM is also commendable. Performance of the entire cast is impressive and there is no over shadowing by the lead hero. The idea of time, chance and interveaving of lives are all recurring motifs. The themes of corruption, politics, bureaucracy and money at the expense of the have-nots are also deftly portrayed. ‘Oozham’ is an engaging watch and can be enjoyed as a conventional revenge thriller.
