Bougainvillea Movie Review: Jyothirmayi and familiarity stand out in this middling film

Amal Neerad is among the very few filmmakers from Malayalam today who boast a signature storytelling style. With his wonderful sense of aesthetics, skillful shot compositions, effective usage of minimal dialogues, and above all, the incredible ability to craft adrenaline-pumping moments, Amal has successfully established a dedicated fan base for his works. His latest film Bougainvillea also has everything one would expect from him. But... are they in the right proportions? Not really. It would be no exaggeration to say the film is stuck somewhere in the middle of all the celebrated Amal Neerad touches.

Director: Amal Neerad

Cast: Jyothirmayi, Kunchacko Boban, Fahadh Faasil, Veena Nandakumar, Srinda, Sharaf U Dheen

After beautifully exploring Idukki's landscape in Iyobinte Pusthakam and Varathan, the director takes us back to the hills. The cold and misty setting is an ideal, but also an oft-repeated backdrop for mystery thrillers. For a large part of Bougainvillea's initial half, the narrative moves leisurely as the focus is on registering every tiny detail about the protagonist Reethu, and her lokam. It includes her fixation with bougainvillea paintings, sudden outbursts, hallucinations, and a warm bond with her house help. Things start to heat up when Reethu, a clinically diagnosed amnesia patient struggling with memory issues, gets embroiled in a high-profile case involving the disappearance of some young women. After the wonderfully crafted Kishkindha Kaandam (KK), this is the second film in recent times to feature a primary character with memory loss. There's a mystery element in both these films, and as viewers, we are put in a tricky situation whether to trust their versions or not. Similar to KK's Appu Pilla, Reethu tries hard to put together her fragmented memories, but something stops her from forming a full picture and this makes for an intriguing interval block.

Jyothirmayi is a revelation as Reethu, embodying her internal turmoils effectively. Aided by the innocence in her dialogue delivery, she's able to bring a sense of vulnerability to the performance. It is also refreshing to see an actor apart from the Parvathys and Manju Warriers to take on such a powerful role. Complementing her ably is Kunchacko Boban, who plays her husband Royce Thomas. There's something innately nice about the actor, which is both a boon and a bane, as it comes in his way of exploring darker shades. Despite his earnest attempts, he still falls short of being menacing.

Right from the ambience to the mood-building and eventually, the climactic showdown, Bougainvillea has a heavy Varathan hangover. So much so that the rousing low-angle shot of Jyothirmayi with a shotgun instantly reminds Aishwarya Lekshmi from Varathan. And that's not all—they even wear similar costumes. But unlike Varathan, Bougainvillea's payoff is not rewarding enough. Instead, it's extremely predictable. The backstory intended to show where the "bad guy" comes from is as generic as it can get. But attention has also been paid to throw some foreshadowing about this person's ability to be deceptive (a cute episode with a child in the hospital) and be brutally aggressive.

The last 30 minutes where the film gets into its action mood is supposed to be Amal's strong zone, but here, the screenplay lacked the required raciness to keep us glued. Instead, the scenes play out in familiar fashion. The main women in Bougainvillea are not your regular damsels in distress; they fight for themselves with all their might (Veena Nandakumar is brilliant). But an adrenaline rush is still missing; not because it's women, but due to the predictability of how it all pans out. On a positive note, Amal doesn't stylise the fights like his other films and treats the sexual abuse scenes with much sensitivity by not getting into the details.

Bougainvillea's biggest mystery is not about the missing women, but the need for actors like Fahadh Faasil and Sharaf U Dheen in such insignificant roles. Introduced with a cool Amal Neerad-esque slo-mo shot, Fahadh's cop character promises a lot initially, but turns out to be a terribly written part. He even spells it out in the end by being apologetic for the "incompetence". Some self-awareness, that.

Amal has often taken inspirations from foreign films and incorporated them skillfully in his works. Bougainvillea also ends with a Malayalam version of the famous "devil" dialogue from the all-time classic, The Usual Suspects. It is used as a lead up to a tail end, but the supposed homage moment looks more like an afterthought and fails to make an impact. 

In the past, we have seen many celebrated filmmakers becoming victims of their own formulas. Though not yet there, it would only help if Amal opts for fresher treatments rather than rehashing his own templates. He's too good a filmmaker for that.