‘Bougainvillea’ movie review: An unsatisfying psychological thriller

Amal Neerad’s ‘Bougainvillea’, starring Fahadh Faasil, Jyothirmayi, and Kunchacko Boban, carries much of the imperfections of the original material, squandering even its neatly crafted buildup

Among all the flaws a writer can imagine for their protagonist, an unreliable memory throws up quite a few fascinating possibilities. In Bougainvillea, Reethu (Jyothirmayi) is almost always unsure of anything that happens right in front of her eyes. For a fairly good period, we are also caught in a similar dilemma — as to whether what we are seeing through her eyes is for real; whether she has painted a Sunflower or yet another Bougainvillea.

In a film as imperfect as the central character’s memory, it is these zones of uncertainty that the makers manage to create through Reethu that work best. Her case of retrograde amnesia is attributed to a road accident, which happened eight years before the events in the film. Royce (Kunchacko Boban), her husband, takes care of her with an added touch of gentleness, just as he takes care of the patients at the hospital he works in. The delicate balance of their life is upset when the police investigation over the case of a missing girl lands up at their doorstep.

The film sticks almost entirely to the narrative in Lajo Jose’s novel ‘Ruthinte Lokam,’ on which it is based, even improving upon the writing in some parts. Amal Neerad’s visual style and intricate sound design add much to this, especially in how he imagines Reethu’s momentary lapses of memory. Jyothirmayi too plays it out in complete sync; even in sequences where her memory lapses are used for cinematic convenience, she brings a believable quality to the scene with the right amount of helplessness and doubt in her body language.

However, the problems in the original material persist in the film too, especially the unconvincing plot twist and the obvious attempts at amping up the violence towards the fag end. What comes close to saving the film from becoming a total letdown is the slow buildup, when the investigation traverses through Reethu’s mind. Just weeks after Kishkindha Kaandam, we have yet another intriguing investigation piece that hinges on a person’s memory, or rather, the lack of it.

Amal Neerad has often found it challenging to neatly wrap up his films despite well-written set-ups (except for a few films like Varathan). One can sense the same issue in Bougainvillea, as he almost squanders the neatly crafted buildup in an ineffective climax sequence. The background story about the villain’s grandfather looks like a force fit, and even the reuse of a popular ‘the greatest trick the devil ever pulled’ line from The Usual Suspects seems quite jarring.

In her return to the screen after almost a decade, Jyothirmayi shoulders a good part of the film, while Kunchacko Boban seems only partly convincing. Fahadh Faasil and Sharafudheen, on the other hand, appear to have been cast just for the sake of having their faces on the publicity posters.

Bougainvillea ends up as an unsatisfying psychological thriller, carrying much of the imperfections of the original story.