Firefly movie review: Vamshi goes for all flash and little substance in directorial debut

Firefly movie story: Vicky’s (Vamshi) return home after four years on foreign soil ends in tragedy only moments later. Having suffered a profound personal loss, Vicky reels under its aftermath, even though he’s surrounded by a bunch of well-meaning extended family members. Vicky’s process of coping with grief, in the hope of finding the path to healing is what Firefly is all about.

Firefly movie review: When Niveditha Shivarajkumar announced her maiden feature film production, there was a spark of excitement and anticipation, given that her earlier trysts with content creation included 2 web series on relationship dynamics (Honeymoon and By Mistake). Something new-age and refreshing would be on the cards – that was the assumption. Then, closer to the film’s release, when the first visuals came up and the promotional interviews began, there were a couple of red flags.

Actor and debutant director Vamshi’s persistent chatter about the technical aspects of the film – the aspect ratio, symmetry, Z-axis, choice of colour palette – and that the subject was very Gen Z, stood out as potential drawbacks. The former because it gave the impression that in the pursuit of style, substance was left in the backburner and the latter, well, owing to a very obvious generational divide, despite having a Zoomer in the household.

This fear, it turns out, was not misplaced. Firefly is a very good-looking film, but once you peel away that layer, you realize that the subject is wrapped in so much tinsel, it’s got little life by itself. On second thought, the story, perhaps, sounds a lot better on paper – a young man processing grief and his response to each stage of that process. Onscreen, alas, it does not have the desired effect. It’s the kind of story that should have you feel a pang and a deep desire to see the protagonist come to terms with it and find peace.

Irrespective of whether the audience relates to the protagonist’s pain, Vamshi’s job, as filmmaker, was to make his viewers feel for the guy. Vicky’s situation had to evoke a response -– to either want to give Vicky a tight hug and tell him that all will be well, or to give him a rap on the head and tell him to snap out of it or maybe something in between. You get the drift, right. That’s the connect, I felt, was sorely missing, even though such personal loss is familiar and should have made it easier to relate. Walking out of the screening, I felt nothing and that’s not a good place for any film.

Firefly is also almost a one-man show, with Vamshi as Vicky the central focus, and the rest of the characters, whether it is his extended family, fellow grief counselling group members, etc., barely get a couple of minutes each. That’s a lot of screen time for one person, in a performance that leaves much to be desired. An easy-going charm alone is not going to cut it. And if Bhairathi Ranagal star Shivarajkumar ’s 2-minute cameo is a highlight that’s going to be remembered, that actually sets a very low bar for the film.

Visually, for the most part, Firefly is astounding, although the appeal of the aspect ratio is debatable – but the question that remains is, to what avail? What purpose does the aesthetic value of Firefly hold? For instance, take that shot of Vamshi sitting in a field as hundreds of bulbs light up behind him – it’s stunning, no doubt, but then what? That pretty much explains every frame of the film. And last, but not the least, Charanraj’s score for the film, which, as a big fan, hurts to write, but it just did not have the rousing effect one hoped for.

Firefly movie verdict: Visually, Firefly, stands miles apart, but the narrative lacks emotional depth and is not the most entertaining.