‘Thalaikoothal’ movie review: Jayaprakash’s film on senicide is simply outstanding
Jayaprakash’s poignant drama about a son’s fight to save his comatose father has brilliant performances, unbelievably great sound design, and stunning visual imagery that speaks of the value of a life
(Originally published in The Hindu on January 30, 2023)
When is one considered alive? Is it when they are fully functioning, physically and mentally, and are conscious of it? Or does it have more to do with the life force within us? What if someone is in a state of comatose, but their mind is alive with memories of the life they led? In Thalaikoothal, his most indulgent and extensive work to date, writer-director Jayaprakash Radhakrishnan fearlessly tells a compelling story about a man’s fight to save his comatose father, and through that, he lets us ponder over many of these questions.
Jayaprakash is in complete control of the narrative; Thalaikoothal has every signature element that his debut film Lens and his mumblecore film The Mosquito Philosophy had. His stories have psychological depth, his characters find themselves battling existential questions, and he dares to pick topics that we are all aware of but not told to. Lens was about the sheer inhumanity of pornography, while The Mosquito Philosophy explored the social stigma around late marriages. Thalaikoothal talks about senicide (the killing of the elderly), and while it is normal here to expect a story about a father-son relationship, Jayaprakash’s film grows to be more than that and we see the story through the eyes of the coma patient.
It’s the seamless and creative transitions that impress us first. Details of the setting (it’s a village in Thirunelveli) and the period of the film aren’t…