#Home Movie Review: #Home (the title made our job when it comes to social-media sharing on its articles) is written and directed by Rojin Thomas. The movie stars Indrans, Manju Pillai, Sreenath Bhasi, Naslen, Kainakary Thankaraj, Vijay Babu, Johny Antony, Deepa Thomas, Anoop Menon, Aju Varghese, Maniyanpilla Raju among others. Neil D'Cunha is the cinematographer, Prejish Prakash is the editor while Rahul Subrahmanian has scored the music for #Home. Home: Sreenath Bhasi and Vijay Babu's Family Drama Premieres on Amazon Prime Video on August 19.

Rojin Thomas is known for making feel-good family fare like Phillip and the Monkey Pen and Jo and the Boy. #Home - no different than the other two in terms of its genre - is actually about a family, this time, who is trying to find a common ground with each other in the era of social networking. Quite empathetic in a time when a joke about calling your kids for dinner by messaging them on WhatsApp is almost true. Did I say 'almost'?

The peculiarly named Oliver Twist (Indrans), named so because his father - a writer - loved literary characters, is a family man with two sons. The younger son Charles (Naslen) is a collegiate obsessed with his Insta stories. The elder son Antony (Sreenath Bhasi) is a film director, who had hit the jackpot with his first film, but is going through a writer's block completing the climax of the second film. Not to mention, he is distracted by social media, wanting to comment on every social controversy there is.

Oliver and his wife, Kuttiyamma (Manju Pillai) have kept themselves away from the social media madness, busying themselves in taking care of the house, of Oliver's old father (Kainakary Thankaraj). When Antony returns home in wanting to finish his climax, Oliver tries to connect with his kids with the one aspect they are obsessed with - smartphone. Just so that he can earn more respect in their eyes.

Does it go well? If you have a parent at home who have found recent liking for smartphones, you know the answer for this.

Watch the Trailer:

If you are familiar with the kind of cinema that Rojin Thomas likes to make, you should know that his films are of the pleasant kind, of nice sappy moments bonded in what could be seen as a flimsy premise. #Home never disappoints in that aspect. There are plenty of moments that you could easily relate to in the film with regards to your own home life.

#Home takes a very feel-good take on social media obsession and of our parents wanting to trying to connect with us by taking up the very thing that they accuse us of not spending time with them - using smartphones. We often ignore the fact that handling smartphones is something of a second education for many of our parents, and their curiosity in handling a world that is both scary and fascinating needs delicate handling. Otherwise, most of them would end up believing every fake news, and turn into rabid WhatsApp uncles and aunts. What say?

I could totally relate to Antony's frequently getting distracted with social media, and his frustration on how this is affecting his work. While reaching this point of the review, I had already checked my phone around a dozen times, mostly for work related stuff.

We can also laugh up Charles' attempts to get more viewers for his Insta stories, by taking credit for things he never does. Like gardening for example. Even if you haven't done it, you might know someone in your family or circle with their Insta obsession.

Easily relatable is Oliver trying to scope through the intricacies of social media and making mistakes and fallacies in the process. One such mistake proves very costly for Antony after his script meet with superstar Vishal (Anoop Menon) doesn't go well.

This particular moment brings a dramatic story turn to the film, that was, till then, mostly traipsing over moments of character-bonding. Does this drama overburden the rest of the film? Not exactly, as Ronjim keeps the tension between the father and son on the low. We know the explosion is around the corner, but the director keeps it simmering till the end.

Till then, we see Antony deal with his frustration, and Oliver with his guilt. Again, there are enough feel-good moments and poignant dialogues that would make you say 'Lovely!'. The line that touched me the most was when Antony's prospective father-in-law(Srikant Murali) is going through Oliver's family albums, and voices his fascination over photographs in the era on digital clicks. To which Oliver replies, "Phonil kidakkum pakshe manassil kidakilla..." (it remains in the phone, but never in your heart). True, innit?

#Home is also beautifully photographed by Neil D'Cuncha, embellishing the feel-goodness of the narrative. The music is pleasant.

The performances are also much likeable. Most of the shouldering is done by Indrans, who excels in the rare opportunity to be at the centre of the spotlight. He nails the perfections and the imperfections of a meek, but honest father, who simply wants his sons to love him and see him not in a despicable way. After Mamukkoya's scene-stealing turn in Kuruthi,  and now Indrans, it is time for some of our respected character stars to shine! Kuruthi Movie Review: Prithviraj Sukumaran, Roshan Mathew’s Film Tackles Religious Radicalism in a Loophole-Laden Thriller.

Sreenath Bhasi effectively captures the hard-boiled exasperation of a youngster handling multiple problems at the same time, including meeting the requirements of a young romance. It is lovely to see the talented Manju Pillai back on screen, and she is fantastic here, especially her outburst against her son before the climax. Naslen, who was impressive in Kuruthi, also manages to be a scene-stealer here. Johny Anthony, as Oliver's best friend Suryan, is his usual self.

Yet, despite a relatable storyline, nice poignant moments and heartwarming performances, why hasn't #Home managed to win me over completely?

For one, the film is way too long. At a runtime of about two hours forty one minutes, #Home is bloated in several places. Not a particular fan of the sub-track of Oliver treating his guilt-ridden anxiety from psychologist Dr Franklin (Vijay Babu, also producer). While it is nice that the film tries to acknowledge a problem that affects many of us, but it doesn't really explore the issue to the fullest, and only manages to stretch the proceedings. The excessive length makes you feel like you tasted a good thing way too much, and you just want it to get done with.

Secondly, the track that ties up the father-son problem - a story that Oliver tells from his youth to a disbelieving Antony - is an idea lifted from Katha Parayumbol, thus leaving #Home with a weak climax. Still, you can't help but like how the film makes the weak revelation turn back to the first scene where Oliver felt inadequate in front of his sons.

Yay!

- The Performances and Quite a Few Feel-Good, Relatable Moments

Nay!

- Bloated and an Irritatingly 'Inspired' Mystery Arc

Final Thoughts

#Home doesn't exactly make it a smooth home run - pardon my baseball lingo  here - but it may leave you with a sense of pleasantness in most places. Or better, maybe help you take a moment from your smartphone to talk to your parents, no matter where they are. #Home is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Rating:3.0

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 19, 2021 10:02 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).