Ivar Tamil Movie
A.G. Raja's Ivar (pronounced Aivar) opens with morons acting moronic. They sing and dance about getting drunk and throwing up. The fun is all theirs. They're four lazy unemployed guys who sleep on the terrace.
For the major part, the film is heading nowhere. Nevertheless, it manages to hold your attention. It doesn't have all its ideas correct but it doesn't shamelessly attempt to masquerade itself as philosophy (take that, Yudham Sei). The acting is all right. It's always good to see new faces (Perarasan, Vijay Anand, Ilah, Athulya). The lesser you've seen of an actor, the lesser you know of him and the easier it is to believe his character. This is where the strength of the film lies- in its characters. They're not deep but they aren't undeveloped either. Here, characterization is chosen over character development. The characters aren't one-dimensional, they're just simple-minded people. Initially, they are repugnant but as the film progresses, you get to know them and understand that they are products of their environment. And it makes sense. Even the 'good' characters don't do 'good' things aimlessly. You see where they're coming from. Technically, the film is no wonder. The music, however, does its bit at driving the film.
The film believes itself to be cut out of the same cloth as Subramaniapuram and Naadodigal but the closest it gets to doing is just making a reference to those films. You can't blame a man for trying. Sai Prasad's debut venture, Ivar is the second film released this year against a village backdrop. Unlike Aadukalam, it does little to distinguish itself from the genre. It doesn't deal with new aspects but it tells a different story.
Unfortunately, Ivar ends up selling itself out to please the audience. It gets close to being a good film and then it plummets thanks to the unnecessary drama at the end, nothing of which you believe. The filmmakers, by lifting the viewer's spirits, compromise on the film's honesty. Just so that it leaves an impression. Sandwiched between a crass beginning and a maudlin ending, Ivar is a simple, light hearted and honest film.
