Game Over

This review contains thematic spoilers

You know that a film has worked rather effectively when your attention continues to be captivated by it twenty-four hours after the first viewing. Your reminiscence of various aspects of the picture throws light on a myriad of new themes, motifs, and likelihoods that may have been initially missed. You ponder about the possibility of a second viewing.

On the surface Game Over is a home invasion thriller where the habitat of safety and respite has devolved into a death trap but it is also about a serial killer on the prowl, breathlessly and ravenously stalking his victim before striking. There are also elements of the paranormal that play effectively throughout the film and add to the eerie feeling. At the heart, this is the story of  a young woman suffering from post-traumatic stress, the invaded home serving as an allegory to her state of mind. Perhaps this is all in the mind or even a dream? It is interesting to note that the protagonist is named Swapna. 

The home that is now the mortal maze is not dissimilar to the world of the computer game, our protagonist happens to be a computer game programmer. When she isn’t working, she feverishly plays a famous maze arcade video game as if her life depends on it. The theme of survival and the relentless battle against a seemingly insurmountable adversary prevails all through. It is important to mention the social commentary the film offers about societal attitudes towards victims of sex crimes and the rampant misogyny. The makers attempt to provide an antidote to this misogyny by making all its principal characters female while the male characters are relegated. This is what Game Over packs during its 114 minutes of running time and I am sure there is a plenty more that I missed.

The narrative unfolds rather cryptically. We are presented with scattered details about the trauma incurred by the protagonist and the internal conflict associated with it in the form of voice over and brief visual flashbacks. The initial pace of the film may seem languid, but it is essential to depict the seemingly mundane so that it is an effective contrast with the proceedings gets physical. Even during the seemingly mundane, you may discover elements that provide clues about the occurrences. 

The paranormal and surreal elements of the film are adeptly played in a manner that drives the audience to the edge of the precipice but does not quite make that leap. Leaving a lot understated is what also makes the film effective, there are no lengthy dialogues or gratuitous expositions. Like most superior works of art it respects its viewers, a lot what you perceive is based on how deeper you are willing to dig.

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The cinematography by A Vasanth effectively builds the claustrophobia within the house while it depicts the pain and the loneliness of the protagonist.

Seemingly random elements depicted of the screen are never devoid of mystery or intrigue. What also works for the film is the potent background score and sound effects by Ron Ethan Yohann. Contemporary films of this genre have become over-reliant on the gimmicky jump scare devices, that presents long moments of silence followed by a deafening bang or a scream. But in Game Over the sound effects are perpetually on the background to heighten the eeriness. The marriage of sound and video works most effectively during the pre-credit sequence when we see through the grainy camera footage of the stalker. The camera is almost like a principal character in the film.

This is a violent film but a lot of this violence is due to the buildup, the most violent acts in the film are always off camera, the accompanying sound effect that allows us to infer what may have occurred, this is much more chilling than the actual depiction of gore. The film is aptly edited by Richard Kevin such that it simmers before it boils and eventually is on fire, both literally and metaphorically.

The film plays rich tributes to Hitchcock’s Psycho and Frenzy, Scorsese’s Cape Fear, Sam Peckinpah’s Straw Dogs, Ram Gopal Varma’s Kaun, Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom, John McTiernan’s Predator and even Doug Liman’s The Edge of Tomorrow without directly borrowing for any of these films.

The cast of the film is in fine form, Taapsee Pannu, fresh from the success of Badla with Amitabh Bachchan delivers an outstanding performance. She manages to capture the pain, isolation, moral conflict and acute phobia of her character but ensures that the stoic aspect never leaves us. Despite being neck deep in inexplicable trauma, she is resolute and resourceful when the going gets tough. Vinodhini Vaidyanathan, who plays the housemaid Kalamma does very well in conveying the gamut of emotions she feels in addition to the deep concern she has for her Taapsee's character, she is almost like a surrogate sister.

At the helm of it all is writer and director Ashwin Saravanan who adroitly delivers on every level of this very unique and rich story about confronting your inner demons however petrifying or unassailable they may seem.

We are living in times of the copious, every week we witness the release formula driven and indifferently made films, TV series, web series, and short films. Seldom does one come across works such as Game Over that is truly original, riveting, enriching and absorbing.

The author can be reached at rajanlaad@gmail.com

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