Helen (Malayalam) Amazon Prime Video 10/10: A suspense thriller that will freeze you!
Anna Ben in the title role is a trained nurse waiting to go abroad, and fills her time working at a fast food restaurant in a mall. The simple story has us falling in love with the father, Paul (Lal) who dissuades Helen every which way he can. The depth of their love and dependency is classic. The hero Azhar (Noble Babu) seems a ruffian but wins us over by the end of the movie. You see the sadistic side of authority in some good acting by Aju Varghese as the SI and real life situations in Rony David as the manager of the fast food joint.
The movie has you wanting to learn more about cheerful Helen’s neighbours, friends, colleagues and people whose lives she lights up. You follow Helen to her classes and work and back..even catch an English movie with the father and daughter with a sweet popcorn moment thrown in.
A movie with just four songs but it touches a chord so deep, thank you Shaan Rahman. Director Mathukutty Xavier has taken care of the smallest detail in depth. Anend C. Chandran’s Cinematography has you panning in and out with the movie as one.
I wouldn’t wait for the remake in Hindi, Kannada, Tamil or Telugu for fear of losing the clean lines of a great classic Malayalam movie to commercialization.
In a simple story of a simple life there’s a twist that will keep you frozen, it’s a thriller after all!
Also read Kappela movie review here
The World of Movies Rating – 10/10
Movie Title: Helen
Directed by: Mathukutty Xavier
Written by: Alfred Kurian Joseph, Noble Babu Thomas, Mathukutty Xavier
Main Cast: Anna Ben as Helen Paul, Lal as Paul, Noble Babu Thomas as Azhar, Aju Varghese as SI Ratheesh Kumar, Rony David as Jayashankar
Year of Release: 2019
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country of Origin: India (Mollywood)
Languages: Malayalam
Running time: 117 minutes
Production Company: Big Bang Entertainments, Habit of Life
Distributed by: Funtastic Films, Ksquare Entertainments, Phars Film
Image Source: Screenshots taken from the movie.
Reviewed by: Shyamala Nawab