'Antony' Review: This 'claustrophobic thriller' will give you a headache

The film's weak storyline and loud music prove to be its undoing.
'Antony' Review: This 'claustrophobic thriller' will give you a headache
'Antony' Review: This 'claustrophobic thriller' will give you a headache
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The film Antony, by debut director Kutti Kumar, was promoted as “India’s first claustrophobic science thriller”. Claustrophobia is a feeling of being trapped; the fear of being in confined spaces and the film does a great job of making you feel trapped, like there’s no escape. Only, here your wish is to exit the theatre as soon as possible.

The film begins with Antony, played by Nishanth, trapped inside a car. At first, he is groggy, unable to recall how exactly he ended up where he is. Soon he figures out that he has been buried alive in his car. This warrants the hero to go on a threatening rant of how he’d be the nemesis of his captors as soon as escapes (and as soon as he figures out who they are, of course).

Now all of a sudden actor Lal appears out of the dark, clouds of cigarette smoke swirling around him, with some sinister beats in the background making you think he’s perhaps the villain. The very next scene you’re in for a surprise. Then there’s the girlfriend played by Vaishali, who is...well, in search of Antony. The rest of the film is a constant back and forth between Antony’s guttural panting and overtly scenic shots of the Nilgiris where people are searching for him.

Instead of inducing a sense of claustrophobia, Antony’s raspy panting succeeds in giving one a headache. To top it all, every two minutes there’s loud metal music, by 19-year-old Shivathmika, that makes your throbbing head feel worse. As the film progresses, the music becomes highly annoying and distracting.

Trapped in his car, Antony goes on a memory trip and there’s a sudden cut to a duet in the beach. He also whips up many things from his car’s boot like how a magician would from his magic hat. Pipes, metal wires, string, bottles, newspapers, lighter, torch - you name it, he’s got it.

The way the film progresses, we begin to question if the director even had a storyline in place? The camera angles don't work. There’s very little dialogue in the film and most of its story is told in flashbacks with exasperating music. Of course, you didn't walk in expecting it to be like Ryan Reynold's Buried but the most unforgivable aspect of the film is the complete absence of a sense of claustrophobia - both for the actor and for the audience.

If you’ve been able to sit through the climax fight and exit after the end credits roll, you might actually feel more relieved than Antony emerging from his trapped car. 

Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the film. Neither TNM nor any of its reviewers have any sort of business relationship with the film's producers or any other members of its cast and crew.

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