Cast: Mammootty, Reenu Mathews, Fahadh Faasil, Aparna Nair, Guinnes Pakru, Mukesh Direction: Lal Jose

Coming from Laljose, ‘Immanuel’ was expected to be very solid film with a strong screenplay. But as of now, the movie misses to shoot into our hearts just by a whisker, but manages itself to be a feel-good film that may be best appreciated by family audiences. A clean movie with quality sequences, ‘Immanuel’ is all about human struggle and positivism to fight against odds.

Mammootty is in the title role of Immanuel, an ordinary simpleton who but shows extraordinary nobility and sacrifice. A rather naive guy when dealing with his proprietor Joseph (Sunil Sugatha) of the Book Publishing house where he works, ‘Immanuel’ is but a hero before his school going son Robin. Leaving happily in a rented house with his wife Annie (Reenu Mathews), the family has minimal dreams and don’t like to take shortcuts to achieve them.

But as the publishing house is closed one fine day, Immanuel is forced to find a new job, which he gets in a new generation insurance company. The work culture there is difficult to accommodate for Immanuel who has also to deal with the tough taskmaster Jeevan(Fahad),who is his branch head. How he manages to live in his new conditions, with a mind full of virtues and how he transforms the men around forms the rest of the story.
A heart rending movie with some fine moments,’Immanuel’ takes on the bad sides of the new generation culture. But the problem with the movie is that it is very predictable. Moreover we have seen this kind of Mammootty characters in many films , the last being his last big hit ‘Best Actor . His raw and innocent characterisation is also a bit confusing with the energy and craftiness that he shows before the interview board and the booze party.
Laljose but has managed to carve out a watchable film out of an average screenplay by A C Vijeesh which falter much in the second half. The introduction of ‘job killers’ in black suits and the car chasing scenes of the central characters stands apart as a sore thump in the otherwise fine proceedings . Some of the dialogues also appear amateurish while the transforming that is due to the balk characters are over night , that are not that convincing .
But the cast and performances are top notch with Mammooty making another cakewalk through a familiar role. He looks fine and better than his recent outings. Fahad Fazil once gain impresses as a man who lives in a corporate world looking for all profits than to share fine emotions. Reenu Mathews in his debut role is good in the film, while the rest of the characters play to the demand of their roles. Nedumudi venu and Salim Kumar are wasted in silly roles.
The technical sides are fine as usual with some good visuals by Pradeep Nair and fine editing by Ranjan Abraham. The songs and BG scores by Afzal Yousuf are also good
Anyhow, this Immanuel’ is a feel good movie that stands apart for its minimal intentions, like it’s protagonists. Watch this movie for the positivism that is infectious.



Immanuvel movie more stills



Keywords:Mammootty, Reenu Mathews, Fahadh Faasil, Aparna Nair, Guinnes Pakru, Mukesh,Lal Jose,malayalam film news,movie reviews