PremiumGold movie review: Alphonse Puthren’s brilliance is on full display in this fun but overlong Prithviraj-starrer
The highlight of Prithviraj Sukumaran’s Gold, right from its outset, is its making; Alphonse has carefully conceived and crafted each of the scenes of the film that blends with Rajesh Murugesan’s thumping music
Last Updated: 02.32 PM, Dec 01, 2022
Story: Joshy, a mobile shop owner, finds a pick-up truck carrying a load of portable speakers parked right in front of his house, on the very same day his new car is about to be delivered. He approaches the cops for help, but they are facing a similar predicament. Accidentally, Joshy discovers what’s inside the small boxes aren’t speakers, and decides to make the most of the situation. Parallely, a tycoon, the father of his daughter’s fiancé and a set of goons are also after what’s inside the truck.
Review: Be it Neram or Premam, Alphonse Puthren’s films have been replete with magical moments, which evoke humour as well as move the audience in the most unexpected of ways. That’s also why the wait for his third directorial, which has lasted over seven years, was much-anticipated. That ended with Prithviraj Sukumaran-starrer Gold. But does it live up to the expectations? It depends on which of his previous films you connected the most with. If it’s Neram, Gold is sure to entertain you, but if it’s Premam, you would find that his latest is a bit hollow.
The film essentially revolves around its protagonist Joshy finding a pick-up truck in front of his house and how he initially tries to move the vehicle from its location, and then later decides to swap the contents of the truck. Amid all this, Alphonse, who also written and edited the movie, weaves several subplots – about what’s happening in the neighbouring police station, how the truck got to Joshy’s house, an awkward alliance between a tycoon’s daughter and an avaricious plotter’s son, and a bunch of goons trying to retrieve what’s inside the vehicle.
The highlight of Gold, right from its outset, is its making; Alphonse has carefully conceived and crafted each of the scenes of the film that blends with Rajesh Murugesan’s thumping music. In fact, some sequences, which feel so inane, beat with so much life and are almost pulsating. For instance, the scene where the cops turn up at Joshy’s house right after he discovers what’s inside the speaker box and scurries to cover his tracks to not let go of a golden opportunity, almost serves as an example of how brilliant editing, acting and music can turn a scene replete with humour into a thrilling sequence. Alphonse does it more than once in the film, and aces it every time.
Though the movie has a wafer-thin plot, it’s how Gold is conceived that makes it stand out. But then there’s only so much that presentation of a film can cover, because once the sheen wears off, you need to connect with the story, especially when it has a runtime of 2 hours and 45 minutes. As soon as the crux of the plot is revealed – thanks to another brilliant sequence involving the protagonist operating a gold furnace inside his bedroom with her sunglasses on, the film does veer off and tries to take on too many subplots with mixed results.
While the scenes with Shammi Thilakan and Lalu Alex have a few punchlines that would make you laugh hard, they become tiring after a point. It’s almost as if the second half is more from a Priyadarshan comedy caper than one by Alphonse himself. Even the presence of several actors including Roshan Mathew, Sharafudheen, Siju Wilson, Vinay Forrt and Deepti Sati, doesn’t do the film much good. But there’s one cameo that was truly a delight because of the combination between Vinay and Krishna Sankar in a mobile shop.
Prithviraj is good as Joshy, especially in sequences where he is on pins and needles – evoking laughter at ease. But the film also caters to his star image, through his action scenes as well as the ending. Nayanthara, in an extended cameo, has nothing much to do in the movie. Ajmal Amir, Shabareesh Varma, Krishna, Mallika Sukumaran, Saiju Kurup and Jagadeesh are the others who get decent screen time, with Baburaj standing out from the rest.
The movie’s cinematography by Anend C Chandran and Viswajith Odukkathil once again make the audience a fly on the wall, an experience that Alphonse has mastered in his previous movie. But is it as exciting? Not quite.
Verdict: Alphonse Puthren’s Gold has its moments, thanks to Prithviraj’s acting, Rajesh Murugesan’s music and the filmmaker’s hold on his craft. But a tighter screenplay would have made it so much more fun.