Penguin slips and never manages to find balance

There were two reasons I was excited about Penguin. One – the actress – Keerthy Suresh. I was impressed with her performance in Mahanati. Second, the film is a Karthik Subbaraj production. Karthik Subbaraj is a promising director in the Tamil film industry.

Penguin, written and directed by Eashvar Karthic, is a mystery thriller which showcases the struggle of a mother to find her kidnapped child. The film is an ode to mothers for their unconditional love towards their children.

Karthik Subbaraj

The film starts off with a great scene. It sets the mood and informs the audience of the horrors which we might have to face during the course of the film. It’s a scene where a person wearing a Charlie Chaplin mask chops a kid into pieces, puts the body into a bag and walks into a lake. I was already at the edge of my seat. Sadly, just like the Charlie Chaplin character walking into the lake, the film only keeps going downhill.

Sometimes, as an audience, you know that a film has all the potential to be good. This is one such film. I knew that the film could be good. But each time the film was stepping on a slippery slope, I was only hoping that it would find balance. It never did.

Let’s start with the performances. Keerthy Suresh as Rhythm carries the entire film on her shoulders. She’s in control throughout the film and we get to witness the longing and sadness of a mother towards her missing child. It’s not melodramatic, it’s more melancholic in nature. However, all the other actors seemed like they were trying too hard to act. Madhampatty Rangaraj as Gautham put me off each time he appeared on the screen.

Keerthy Suresh in Penguin.

The writing of these characters is poor. We know little to nothing about these characters and their past. Except for a mother wanting to find her child, we have no other reason to root for Rhythm. And we know nothing about Gautham. Except for the fact that he “accepts” Rhythm as who she is. Way to go for a movie trying to portray the strong nature of a mother. Gautham was more alien to me than Jadoo from Koi Mil Gaya. Maybe it was written in this fashion so that the audience can keep playing the guessing game of who might be the kidnapper.

There are a few instances where the film misses on logic as well. For me, a logic of the film depends on the kind of world the film establishes. I wouldn’t question the superheroes of MCU, the characters of Wes Anderson or even the characters from Mysskin’s films. Because that’s the kind of world all of them have managed to establish. Penguin leans more towards realism. So, it was hard for me to digest a few logical flaws.

Apart from Keerthy’s performance, the music and the cinematography are the two other things which caught my attention. Santosh Narayanan’s music helps in setting up the eerie mood of the film. At places, it sounds like a chordophone is played with a blade. The cinematography by Karthik Palani complements Santosh’s music. However, it does not save the film. This is yet another example that good visuals do not make good films. A film with great visuals but nothing to offer is like a lustrous vessel which can’t store anything. There’s no use of such vessel. It only takes up space.

A still from the movie.

Penguin is Eashvar Karthic’s directorial debut. However, as a viewer, it does not matter to me whether it is a director’s first film or 20th. But as someone who knows the hardships of filmmaking, I just hope that Eashvar Karthic learns from his mistakes and give us something better in the future.