Synopis - Sam (Prithviraj), who leads the life of a drunkard, is given charge of a murder investigation.Script & Direction - Jeethu simply shocked me!!! I always rated him as an average director who loves to play safe with box office. But 'Memories' was a big slap to that thought. Rather a thrashing. Right from the very first frame, we can feel that Jeethu has chosen a different lane where we can see him being innovative as well as brilliant. One of the very few scripts which develops as the narration progresses from scene to scene. The highlight of the movie was how he depicted Sam onscreen. He perfectly balanced his personal life with his professional life. His family life,past and issues with his current family after earning the tag of a drunkard were emotionally shot with some brilliant moments like the "emotional outbreak" scene with his mother. There wasn't a single moment for unnecessary melodrama.
Once the investigation commences, Jeethu clearly knows how to lead and place his characters. The investigation scenes thus were conducted meticulously. Another sign of his brilliance was the night chase scene. This shows how well Jeethu has wrote his lead character. Finally he ended the film on a high note which happens rarely in current films. The idea was novel eventhough we can see slight traces of 1980s Malayalam Thriller. But the similarity ends there. The frames were simply outstanding.
On a negative note, there are very few flaws here n there but it will never dampen the experience. I am unable to detail it since it may become spoilers.
Cast & Performance - Prithviraj is currenty driving a Ferrai at a high pace on tthe road to brilliance. His selection has been simply outstanding with the last 3 films and Sam is going to join thatlist as one of the best. This was a performance which reinvented or polished the actor yet again which was close to flawless. I find it a bit difficult to reveal the rest of the cast due to the genre. But to name a few, Vijayaraghavan,Suresh Krishna,Rahul,Vanitha etc etc delivered fine performances while the cast of newcomers were bad.
Song & Background Score - "Thirayum Theeravum.." is a fine melody sung by Vijay Yesudas which shot the flashback scenes of Sam & his family. "Memories..." is an English song played during the opening credits. The background score was outstanding.
Technical Expertise - Sujith Vaassudev's brilliant frames gave the movie the right mood according to each scene. Whether the slick frames or the natural frames, the shots were apt. John Kutty's editing was fine n even. Saburam's art direction can be seen with the wood work. The make up department gave the apt look for each characters especially Prithviraj.
Bottomline - OUTSTANDING SUSPENSE THRILLER/DRAMA....HATS OFF TO JEETHU JOSEPH & PRITHVIRAJ