“Society is a fucker,” declares the title character of Dileesh Pothan’s Joji. If we observe the setup from a distance, society is seldom a direct component in the Panachel family. Here is a film with minimal exposition and no random third-party conversations staged at tea shops or rickshaw stands. The closest we get is a priest (Basil Joseph) who is as priest-like as any priest would ever be. Yet, society is omnipresent in Joji, a sedate thriller inspired by William Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
Writer Syam Pushkaran constructs his story around characters who have been victims of societal tirades and conditioning all through their lives. The family patriarch Kuttappan (equivalent to King Duncan in Macbeth) knows that it’s health and wealth that will aid him in the sunset of his life. He staunchly safeguards both. The eldest son, Jomon (Baburaj), is a chronic alcoholic and a divorcee. Jaison (Joji Mundakayam), the second child, is a married man and is perennially in need of money to run the family business. His wife, Bincy (Unnimaya Prasad), is a homemaker stuck in the monotony of being one.
The youngest is Joji (Fahadh Faasil), a man in his late 20s. Aside from certain material desires and perhaps a passive wish to migrate abroad, Joji is quietly disillusioned about who he is. “I was unable to be the man I wanted to be,” he rues at one point. What did he want to be? We are not told. His nephew Popy (Alister Alex) does not hold him in high regard either. Joji is not up to anything that would command respect from society at large, let alone from the teenage Popy.
If the writer places this normal-looking Malayali family in the lush town of Erumeli, director Dileesh Pothan gives them and their surroundings consistently haunting shades. The most striking element in the film is the signature tune (extraordinary music by Justin Varghese), which recalls Simon & Garfunkel’s enigmatic “El Condor Pasa.” Underscoring Joji’s fluctuating moods, the tune plays out. We hear piano notes in moments of stillness and violin strains in sadder, more perplexing stretches. The original score is a solid cog in the wheel, and it talks to us in ways dialogues wouldn’t.
Syam Pushkaran’s screenplay contains plenty of layers, which get enough mileage and visual cues on Pothan’s canvas. Their protagonist, Joji, loves to sleep. In a non-judgmental world, he would continue sleeping for the rest of his life. He enjoys strolling through the expansive family rubber estate, taking occasional cigarette breaks by the pond in the middle of it. The pond is exactly where his visibly fit father suffers a massive stroke. Joji rears a white horse (remember Duncan’s horses in Macbeth?) much against his authoritarian father’s wishes. He is inquisitive about the gadgets that his nephew sneakily orders online. Joji is carefully constructed as a curious, socially awkward fellow. He does not necessarily dislike his family, but he silently wishes to be in a place where he owes no explanations to the world.
The ambience Pothan sets around Joji and his family is placid. It can be equated to Popy’s pellet gun and Sudhi’s thotta — a sudden movement could make them destructive. If the rubber plantations, coconut and pineapple orchards render the film a naturally grim mood (cinematography by Shyju Khalid), Joji gets finer layers in the form of the social issues it tackles. Jomon’s alcoholism and failed marriage hold a mirror to Kerala’s notoriety for this closely linked phenomenon. His altercations with the priest — who equates the Bible to a “user manual” for believers — are spontaneous, erupting as acts of rebellion against social norms and inexorable gossip. Jomon is the most visibly affected and helpless person in the Panachel family. However, a little dissection reveals how Joji’s wounds are far graver.
Bincy is a magnificently tweaked version of Lady Macbeth, and she possesses her share of issues. She oscillates hopelessly between her financially saddled husband and her fatigue as a dutiful woman in a deeply patriarchal household. In the handful of moments she gets to score, Unnimaya Prasad emotes beautifully without lines. It could even be a fleeting scene where she applies nail polish to her toenails.
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In a masterfully staged dinner table scene, Dileesh Pothan tests the nerves of each character. Becoming the moderator in the discussion is the sanest person in the enterprise — Dr. Felix (Shammy Tilakan, pitch-perfect). When the conversation treads into animosity, Bincy throws a sharp line: “The family members are getting a chance for the first time to voice their opinions. Let them.” Joji remains inert throughout, only to be alerted at the mention of a specific detail about his father Kuttappan’s death. Pothan mixes his protagonist’s tense body language with Bincy’s reaction shots, paired with an understated score and sound design, thereby producing an eerie atmosphere. In an instant, an animated Joji turns into a sudden problem solver. “My decision has nothing to do with the public. I don’t care what they say,” the young man announces, much to the surprise of Felix, who confesses how he had considered him worthless until that moment.
Due credit to Fahadh Faasil for immersing his soul into Joji. Frailer than how we usually see him, the actor uses his body and eyes to breathe life into Syam Pushkaran’s delectably complex protagonist. The unique equations he shares with every family member are potently expressed, as Fahadh confidently holds the reins.
The smartest thing Pushkaran and Pothan do to assert Joji’s character is to not show him in contact with the outside world, barring two fleeting episodes involving religious rituals. Even in those, the youngster is unable to mingle or concentrate. The fishless pond where the man often goes fishing is a clear metaphor for the outer world. On a refreshing note, Joji, despite deriving its core thought from Macbeth, is hardly about greed. As a result, the character never comes across as a ruthless person. Pothan’s film treats its leading man with empathy, and I could even draw a parallel to the much-discussed DC character Joker at various moments. Even in the most Fahadh Faasil-like threat that Joji makes to Jaison in the pre-climax, the narrative never veers from its carefully designed confines. The man takes every minute as it comes, and his reflexes are instant, and his actions are never the result of immaculate planning, unlike how an organized, rigid society would operate. Joji, this way, has a golden message, and it makes sure that hearts go out to Pothen’s complex leading man.
Rating: ★★★★½
Joji is streaming on Amazon Prime.
